GERMANE and GERMANE 






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COPYRIGHT DEPOSm 



Silent Reading 



A Handbook for Teachers 



CHARLES E. GERMANE, Ph. D. 

Dean of the College of EDucATioisr 

Des Moines University 

EDITH GAYTON GERMANE, M. A. 

Teacher of Reading 

Des Moines Public Schools 




CHICAGO NEW YORK 

EOW, PETEESON AND COMPANY 



r- C 






COPYRIGHT 1922 
ROW, PETERSON 
AND COMPANY 



Of C -9 \222 



©C1A690529 



TO 

ERNEST HORN 

IN GRATEFUL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 
OF OUR INDEBTEDNESS TO HIM 



PEEFACE 

Much experience in high-school, normal-college, and 
university classrooms has convinced the authors that 
the following statements may be verified in any school: 

1. The chief cause of failure among first and sec- 
ond-year students is their inability to employ ef- 
fective methods of study. 

2. By using proper methods of training it is pos- 
sible to improve the study habits of many such 
students within a short time. 

During the last few" years there has been much in- 
vestigation designed to discover the best method of read- 
ing effectively, because the ability to do that lies at 
the bottom of how to study. Such investigations have 
been concerned with the physiological and psychological 
aspects of the problem, as well as with the pedagogical 
principles. As a result of this increased interest in 
the subject, administrative officers in city school sys- 
tems are more closely supervising the methods employed 
to teach reading, and they are also more closely scru- 
tinizing the results obtained. Reading circle boards are 
also interesting themselves in literature that treats of 
the teaching of reading. 

Because the reports of experiments in this field of 
education are usuall}^ only to be found in widely scat- 

5 



6 PREFACE 

tered sources, and when found prove to be of a highly 
technical nature, largely statistical, it is difficult for 
the average teacher to obtain or to use the conclusions 
of investigators. To remedy this situation by summa- 
rizing all that is best and most practical in the many 
modern investigations, and to make the findings avail- 
able to teachers everywhere, has prompted the authors 
to undertake this work. 

The authors are especially indebted to Dr. Ernest 
Horn, Professor of Education and Director of the Ele- 
mentary Experimental School at the State University 
of Iowa for the classification of silent-reading prob- 
lems under four headings: Speed, Comprehension, Or- 
ganization, and Eetention. It was his vision of the 
scope of the field of reading, and his enthusiasm and 
encouragement that made this book a possibility. 

They are also indebted to Dr. Gerald A. Yoakam, 
Director of Teacher Training in the State Normal 
School at Kearney, Nebraska, for the use of some of 
his data, and to Miss Kate Kelly, Primary Supervisor 
of the Des Moines Public Schools, for reading the 
manuscript and offering constructive criticisms. To 
many heads of school systems in Iowa who permitted 
the carrying out of experiments the authors are grate- 
ful, and especially so to Misses Post, Swemm, and 
Starr, principals of schools in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. 

Des Moines University ^' ^- ^• 

Des Moines, Iowa E. G. G. 

October 22, 1922 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 
PART ONE 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I. Silent or Oral Reading 11 

II. Speed in Reading 27 

III. Developing the Ability to Comprehend 45 

IV. Developing the Ability to Organize 68 

V. Retention 86 

VI. Questionable Methods of Teaching Reading 100 

VII. Remedial Work in Reading 115 

VIII. Remedial Work in Reading (Continued) 143 

IX. Measuring Comprehension and Retention 165 

X. Material for Silent-Reading Purposes 186 

PART TWO 

XI. Silent Reading in Grades I and II 205 

XII. Supplementary Exercises for Grades I and II.... 234 

XIII. Silent Reading in Grades III and IV 259 

XIV. Silent Reading in Grades V and VI 280 

XV. Silent Reading in Grades VII and VIII 297 

XVI. Motivation of Drill Work in Reading 333 

Appendix 

A. Pamphlets Suitable for Use as Reading 

Material 357 

B. Books Suggested for Use in Grades I, II, 

AND III 858 

C. Books Suggested for Use in Grades IV and 

V 363 

D. Supplementary Reading Material for Grades 

IV TO VIII 369 

E. Literary Selections: For Boys and Girls 

FROM 10 TO 15 Years of Age 373 

F. List of Publishers 376 

Index 379 



PART ONE 



CHAPTER I 
SILENT OR ORAL READING 

Importance of silent reading. The importance of 
teaching pupils to read effectively can scarcely be over- 
estimated, since reading is the key to all subject-mat- 
ter. The pupil's progress in school depends largely 
upon the speed and accuracy with which he can get 
the thought from the printed page. We say that he 
is good in geography, history, science, or mathematics 
if he can quickly grasp the important ideas from a 
mass of details, and if he can organize and retain those 
essentials. 

Judging from the time allotment accorded reading 
in the grades, it is evident that the importance of this 
subject has been recognized. In fact, an examination 
of courses of study shows that in the primary grades 
approximately 70 per cent of the time has been devoted 
to the teaching of reading. 

However, very little training in silent reading has 
been given even in the intermediate and grammar 
grades, notwithstanding the fact that the subject-mat- 
ter is becoming more informational and definitely or- 
ganized, and that success in its mastery demands speci- 
fic training in how to study. Until recently the work 

11 



12 SILENT READING 

of the teacher has "Qsually focused on oral rather than 
on silent reading; on expression rather than on get- 
ting, organizing, and retaining ideas. The question 
naturally arises, can this emphasis on oral reading be 
justified ? 

Drawbacks of the oral-reading method. Speed in 
reading necessitates wide perception-units, that is, 
seeing groups of words instead of single words. Much 
oral reading for beginners tends to make the child 
word conscious and consequently develops motor 
habits of narrow eye-span. Dr. Schmidt says "the 
rate of oral reading, although subject to considerable 
variation, is confined within relatively narrow limxits 
because of its dependence upon the physiological 
mechanism involved in vocalization."^ 

A pupil's ability to read may well be measured by 
the number of thought units which he is able to recog- 
nize in a given time. Hence, flash-card exercises and 
other silent-reading devices which emphasize getting 
the idea are really of intrinsic value. They tend to 
develop good motor habits as well as attentive, pur- 
poseful reading habits. We have too long been read- 
ing ''from the nose down" rather than ''from the 
nose up." 

Those who maintain that oral reading is the natural 
method for beginners believe that the lip-movements 
and inner speech of silent reading are reflex actions, 

'Schmidt, W. A. "An experimental study in the psychology 
of reading-." Supplementary Educational Monograph, Vol. 1, No. 
2, University of Chicag-o Press, Chicago, 1917. 



SILENT OR ORAL READING 13 

the physiological tendency to which is inherited. 
Qnantz believes that inner speech or articulation is an 
inherited tendency. He says ''it is not second nature, 
but inherently first nature ; not something to be 
unlearned, but to be outgrown."^ Other investigators 
maintain that the lip-movements and articulation of 
silent reading are acquired. In O'Brien's judgment, 
the explanation of the tendenc}^ to articulate when 
reading is to be found ''not in the list of inherited 
tendencies or connate reflexes, but in the acquired habits 
of the individual."^ According to him, the tendency 
to lip-movement and vocalization is built up by the 
methods of teaching reading. 

Pintner does not believe that articulation is neces- 
sary, even though it may be a universal habit. As a 
result of one of his experiments he concludes "that 
articulation during the reading process is a habit which 
is not necessary for that purpose, that reading with- 
out articulation sacrifices nothing in the process of 
thought-getting," and "that practice in reading with- 
out articulation tends to reduce the time involved in 
the process."^ Schmidt further confirms the opinion 
of Pintner when he says : 

It is quite possible, too, that if training in oral read- 
ing were discontinued at an early stage, and training 

^Quantz, J. O. "ProT^lems in the psychology of reading." Psy- 
chological Revieio: Monograph Sum^leonent, Vol. 2, No. 1, (Decem- 
ber) 1897. 

^O'Brien, John A. SUent Reading. The Macmillan Company, 
New York City, 1921. ' 

^Pintner, Rudolph. "Inner speech during silent reading." -Psi/- 
chological Revieio, Vol. 20, (January) 1915. 



14 SILENT READING 

in rapid silent reading were stressed, the tendencies 
toward inner speech might be greatly reduced and vis- 
ualization cultivated, at least in part. As a matter of 
fact, we appear to have the ability to take in all kinds 
of situations visually without speech accompaniments/ 

The problem for the learner. Thus it seems that 
the vital problem for the learner is to recognize the 
symbol and immediately to associate it with that for 
which it stands. For example, the teacher writes the 
word *'run" on the blackboard. Her chief concern 
is that the child may associate the symbol **run** with 
the activity; the word need not be spoken. "Why 
should it be, since speaking it requires time and is 
an unnecessary step? The child is capable of recog- 
nizing many situations both in and out of school to 
which he makes no vocal response. 

But why should 90 per cent of the teacher's time 
in the reading period be spent in teaching children to 
read orally, when 90 per cent of their reading must 
necessarily be silent both in school and out? Is it 
fair to have the child acquire attitudes toward a sub- 
ject and to form habits and develop skill for which 
he will have little use either in school or out of it? 
The habits formed in oral reading may be a positive 
hindrance to the acquirement of speed and compre- 
hension in silent reading. This contention is con- 
firmed by Dearborn, who says that ^*the effect of 
articulating is to decrease ordinarily the span of 

^Schmidt, W. A. "An experimental study in the psycholog-y 
of reading." Supplementary Educational Monograph, Vol. 1, No. 
2, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1917. 



SILENT OR ORAL READING 15 

attention,"^ and consequently retard the rate of read- 
ing. In general we have eliminated oral spelling from 
the school program, not only for psychological reasons 
but also for sociological ones. We say it does not 
function in life's activities. "Why then should we dis- 
criminate in favor of oral reading and retain it, unless 
there is a need for it as such. 

Values of oral reading. One should not infer, 
however, that oral reading has no place on the school 
program. It is certainly of importance. Few arts are 
more prized than that of being able to read and to 
speak with clear enunciation, distinct articulation, 
correct pronunciation, and pleasing cadence. But 
would not courses in literature, oral English, public 
speaking and dramatics offer ideal opportunities for 
training in this art? And why should we not stress 
training in pronunciation, enunciation, articulation, 
and the other factors of good speech, in all schoolroom 
activities? It is not enough to drill on these things 
for twenty minutes a day in one class, and neglect 
them in all others. 

Oral rendition of literature. Good oral rendition 
greatly enhances the charm of certain poems and 
prose passages and also gives them greater depth of 
meaning. Indeed, one does not recognize the aesthetic 
appeal and the emotional significance of much choice 
literature until one reads it aloud. Such values as 

^Dearborn, W. F. "The psychology of reading-." Columhia 
University Contributions to Philosophy and Bsychology, Vol. 14, 
No. 1, 1906. 



IQ SILENT READING 

are inherent in word imagery, euphony, meter, and 
tone cannot have the fullest significance nor be fully 
appreciated unless the selections are read well orally, 
as the following selections^ show. 

He clasps the crag with hooked hands; 
Close to the sun in lonely lands, 
King'd with the azure world, he stands. 

The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls; 
He watches from his mountain walls. 
And like a thunderbolt he falls. 

Tennyson: The Eagle. 

For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams 

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee; 
And the stars never rise but I see the bright eyes 

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee; 
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side 
Of my darling, my darling, my life and my bride, 

In her sepulchre there by the sea — 

In her tomb by the side of the sea. 

PoE: Annabel Lee. 

On Linden, when the sun was low. 
All bloodless lay the untrodden snow, 
And dark as winter was the flow 
Of Iser, rolling rapidly. 

But Linden saw another sight, 
"When the drum beat, at dead of night, 
Commanding fires of death to light 
The darkness of her scenery. 



SILENT OR ORAL READING I7 

By torch and trumpet fast array 'd, 
Each horseman drew his battle blade, 
And furious every charger neigh 'd 
To join the dreadful revelry. 

Then shook the hills, with thunder riven, 
Then rushed the steed to battle driven, 
And louder than the bolts of heaven 
Far flashed the red artillery. 

Campbell : Hohenlinden. 

I impeach Warren Hastings of high crimes and 
misdemeanors. I impeach him in the name of the 
Commons of Great Britain in Parliament assembled, 
whose parliamentary trust he has betrayed. I impeach 
him in the name of all the Commons of Great Britain, 
whose national character he has dishonored. I im- 
peach him in the name of the people of India, whose 
laws, rights, and liberties he has subverted, whose 
properties he has destroyed, whose country he has laid 
waste and desolate, I impeach him in the name and 
by virtue of those eternal law^s of justice which he 
has violated. I impeach him in the name of human 
nature itself, which he has cruelly outraged, injured, 
and oppressed in both sexes, in every age, rank, situ- 
ation, and condition of life. 

Burke : Impeachment of Warren Hastings. 

It is evident that the ability to read well orally has 
an important value that should be made available to 
every child. Any plan or method which gives train- 
ing in correct pronunciation, distinct articulation, 
clear enunciation, and the pleasing, effective use of 
one's language certainly performs a valuable service. 



18 SILENT READING 

To be appreciated, the best literature must be read 
well orally. Rhythm and word imagery demand it, 
as the above selections show. The famous passages 
of literature must be rendered orally if one is to feel 
the passion of the author or appreciate the grandeur 
of his ideas. The oral reading of such selections gives 
the child a keen sense of enjoyment, it enables him 
to express his aesthetic emotions. Training the voice 
to express man's finer feelings is an important aim 
of work in oral reading. Although most of the 
reading period is devoted to oral reading, the great 
majority of pupils who graduate from the elementary 
and high schools cannot read well orally because they 
have not learned to think and feel with the author. 

Methods of teaching oral reading". The chief cause 
of this unsatisfactory condition is undoubtedly the 
method of presenting the reading material. At pres- 
ent there are two outstanding methods of teaching 
oral reading, the principles of which are diametrically 
opposed. Adherents of the old school believe that an 
appreciation of poetry is best developed by the 
detailed analysis of a few choice poems. They argue 
that such treatment gives the student a working 
method and thus develops an interpretative and 
appreciative attitude toward good literature. Adhe- 
rents of the new school strongly condemn such pro- 
cedure. They argue that the appreciation of poetry 
comes from extensive reading carried on as a leisure 
activity for the mere joy to be found in it. 



SILENT OR ORAL READING 19 

In the first instance, we find that in order to insure 
comprehension a poem is studied line by line, ana- 
lyzed, and dissected until its unity is destroyed and 
the selection is robbed of all its beauty. As a conse- 
quence pupils often come to dislike poetry and seldom 
read it either orally or silently except as a required 
task. In the second instance, the radical opponents of 
the former method claim that appreciation comes not 
from the intensive study of a few poems, but from 
reading much poetry. They take for granted that 
pupils are capable of comprehending a poem and in- 
terpreting it without other study than that furnished 
by a leisurely oral reading. 

A combination method. Possibly these methods 
are extreme. Critics agree that the first requires 
overanalysis, that the second does not require suf- 
ficient study to insure apprehension, comprehension, 
and appreciation. It is therefore likely that the best 
results might be obtained by combining the commend- 
able features of both. The teacher should use her 
judgment in selecting suitable methods. 

Although it would not be desirable to impose an 
extreme form of the first method upon the pupils, yet 
poetry must be understood to be enjoyed, and conse- 
quently some analysis is necessary. It is surely pos- 
sible to ask such questions about a poem as will aid 
in understanding it, and at the same time enhance its 
beauty for the reader. Take, for example, the little 
stanza : 



20 SILENT READING 

Oh, the sunshine told the bluebird, 
And the bluebird told the brook, 
That the dandelions were peeping 
In the woodland's sheltered nook. 

Have the pupils read this stanza and try to answer 
the question: *'What season of the year is implied 
by these lines?" The answers will indicate whether 
or not the pupils understand what they have read. 
Surely such a question does not rob the poem of its 
beauty ! 

Would the beauty of the following stanza be at all 
marred by asking the pupils to read it silently and 
then try to answer the question, **What is the name 
of the prettiest bridge^" 

There are bridges on the rivers, 

As pretty as you please; 
But the bow that bridges heaven. 

And overtops the trees, 
And builds a road from earth to sky. 

Is prettier far than these. 

Have the pupils silently read the following poem, 
*^The Secret," then try to answer these questions. 
What was the secret? How do you suppose the tree 
told it? 

We have a secret, just we three, 
The robin and I and the sweet cherry tree; 
The bird told the tree, and the tree told me. 
And nobody knows it but just we three. 



SILENT OR ORAL READING 21 

But of course the robin knows it best, 
Because lie built, — ^I shan't tell the rest; 
And laid the four little — ^somethings — in it. 
I'm afraid I shall tell it every minute. 

The teacher's aim should be to test the children's 
comprehension of a poem, not by having them give a 
detailed analysis of it, but by requiring answers to 
carefully worded questions that demand an under- 
standing and appreciation of the chief thoughts and 
sentiments expressed in the selection. 

Other reasons for teaching oral reading. Other 
arguments for emphasizing oral reading have been 
advanced, but they are hardly justified by recent 
scientific investigations. For example, some teachers 
claim that since so many pupils are of the auditory- 
image type it is absolutely necessary that they read 
aloud in order to insure a high degree of comprehen- 
sion. However, recent and thoroughgoing scientific 
experiments make such assertions untenable. Bryan^ 
subjected more than 600 school children to forty-one 
different tests in an effort to determine the type of 
imagery most dominant. After carefully interpreting 
his results, he decided that only five or ten of the 
pupils tested showed extreme eye-mindedness or ear- 
mindedness. Even such extreme cases are not handi- 
capped by the kind of presentation, whether it be to 
the eye or to the ear, because each pupil quickly 
shifts to his particular image type. 

iBryan, W. L. "Eye and ear-mindedness." Proceedings of 
the National Education Associationj 1893. 



22 SILENT READING 

Betts, who has made one of the most thorough in- 
vestigations of both voluntary and spontaneous use of 
imagery in thinking, concludes : 

We shall have to insist that imagery, apart from 
inner speech, not only does not constitute the major 
part of the thought stream, but also that the thought 
stream may and does go on efficiently at times without 
any imagery whatever in it. And this absence of imag- 
ery does not mean mental poverty, but only mental selec- 
tion. At this point, as at all others, the mind is but 
following the fundamental law of economy, and using 
the elements which will most efficiently do its work 
with the least effort/ 

Many teachers insist that one of the best means of 
testing a pupil's comprehension of a paragraph is to 
have him read it orally. They contend that the child's 
oral expression is a reliable index of his ability to 
interpret the thought. However, such statements can- 
not go unchallenged. As a matter of fact, some pupils 
read with considerable fluency and nearly perfect 
expression, but fail decidedly when tested for inter- 
pretation. This is shown not only in the grades, but 
even in colleges where students often fluently read 
passages in some foreign language, the content of 
which they are unable to to translate. 

Criticism of reading methods. At present there 
are several outstanding criticisms of the methods of 
teaching reading now most generally used. There has 
been no clear-cut idea of what should be included in 

^Betts, Georgre H. "The distribution and function of mental 
imag-ery." Columbia University Contributions to Education, No. 
26. 1909. 



SILENT OR ORAL READING 23 

the subject; consequently, definition of aim lias not 
been possible. We have too long suffered overlapping 
and confusion of subject-matter. An analysis of 
courses of study shows that the following subjects are 
included under the heading ** reading": Literature, 
oral English, speech defects, elocution, dramatization, 
pageantry, oral reading, and silent reading. We can- 
not expect large returns to reward our efforts in 
teaching reading until we realize that each of the 
above subjects has its own definite objectives and 
methods upon which we must focus attention. We 
have failed distinctly to recognize the fields of oral 
and silent reading, and we have been unaware that 
training for efficiency in oral reading may not develop 
efficiency in silent reading. 

A sugg'ested improvement. The authors maintain 
that silent reading is not a new study to be added to 
the curriculum, necessarily requiring the reading of 
some particular type of material. Bather, they believe 
it is a means by which pupils may be taught how to 
study. Correct methods should be applied to every 
lesson which the pupil is required to read silently. 
The possibilities of silent reading are important 
enough to warrant its being given an emphasis equal 
to that laid upon oral reading. A pupil who can give 
the main ideas of a selection in a well-organized form, 
after a single reading of it, is a good reader; the 
silent-reading period should aim to develop exactly 
this power in studying. However, if this skill is to 



24 SILENT READING 

be acquired, the teacher must keep in mind the four 
fundamental aims of silent reading — speed, compre- 
hension, organization, and retention. 

Chief aims of silent reading". The slow reader is 
continually handicapped. Every year increases the 
reading demands made on school children and adults. 
If the rate of silent reading can be increased, while 
the degree of comprehension remains the same, what 
a tremendous advantage will be gained! 

The ability to comprehend what one reads is more, 
important, however, than the ability to read rapidly. 
The ability to cover many pages or to see many words 
in a short time profits the reader but little unless he 
understands the content. Comprehension is funda- 
mental to all study; to the degree a pupil compre- 
hends, to that degree he makes progress. All work, 
whether in oral or silent reading, should stress ' com- 
prehension. 

The ability to organize what one reads is the third 
aim in developing a method of teaching silent reading. 
It is of great importance. A pupil who can dis- 
tinguish between points of major and minor im- 
portance, who has acquired the ability to organize 
the material he reads, who can outline and sum- 
marize efficiently, has mastered one of the essential 
qualifications demanded of a good reader. 

Helping pupils acquire the ability to retain what 
they read is also of the utmost importance, because 
much of the knowledge acquired today in school is 



SILENT OR ORAL READING 25 

of value only in the future. In fact, the ability to 
think soundly and to reason depends on how well 
one can retain certain fundamental ideas. During 
the silent-reading exercises teachers should stress or- 
ganization, association, routine reviews, and all other 
factors that aid in developing a good memory. 

SUMMARY 

1. Efficient training in silent reading is of the utmost 
importance because most of the reading done in daily 
life is silent. 

2. Oral reading is important because it can be used to 
teach pronunciation, articulation, and enunciation, as 
well as the effective rendition of the finer thoughts 
and feelings of the race as expressed in literature. It 
also aids in the appreciation of poetry and prose mas- 
terpieces. 

3. The methods used for teaching oral reading have gen- 
erally failed to obtain the desired results. Compre- 
hension should be tested by carefully worded questions, 
the answers to which require an understanding and 
appreciation of the thought and feeling which the selec- 
tion conveys. 

4. Teachers have overlooked the importance of silent read- 
ing as a means of training pupils how to study. 

5. If a method of study is to be developed by silent read- 
ing, the fundamental factors — speed, comprehension, or- 
ganization, and retention, — must be emphasized daily. 

6. Teachers have failed to get the greatest results from 
their teaching of reading because their energy has been 
dissipated by the inclusion of oral English, dramatiza- 
tion, literature, and other subjects under the heading 
reading. They have failed to recognize the two dis- 
tinct fields of reading, oral and silent. They have as- 
sumed that training pupils to read orally is equivalent 



26 SILENT READING 

to training them to read silently, althougli in many 
respects the two methods of instruction and the respec- 
tive aims are distinctly opposed to each other. 

7. Silent reading is not a new subject to be added to the 
curriculum, rather a means of teaching a method of 
study. 

8. Silent reading should receive at least as much emphasis 
as oral reading. 

SUGGESTED READINGS 

Bassett, Lee Emerson. A Hand'book in Oral Reading. 
Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1917. 

Briggs, T. H. and Coffman, L. D. Reading in PuMic Bcliools. 
Row, Peterson and Company, Chicago, 1911. 

Gray, W. S. "Principles of method in teaching reading, 
derived from scientific investigations." The Eighteenth 
Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Educa- 
tion: Part II. Public School Publishing Company, Bloom- 
ington, Illinois, 1919. 

Huey, Edmund B. The History and Pedagogy of Reading. 
The Macmillan Company, New York City, 1915. 

Judd, Charles H. Reading: Its Nature and Development. 
Supplementary Educational Monographs, Vol. 2, No. 4, 
(July) 1918. University of Chicago Press, Chicago. 

Klapper, Paul. Teaching Children to Read. D. Appleton and 
Company, New York City, 1914. 

O'Brien, John A. Silent Reading. The Macmillan Company, 
New York City, 1921. 

Pintner, Rudolf and Gilliland, A. R. "Oral and silent read- 
ing." Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol. 7, (April) 
1915. 



CHAPTER II 

SPEED IN READING 

The importance of speed. Training for speed in 
reading is directly related to teaching pupils how to 
study effectively. The ability to read an assignment 
rapidly, and at the same time get the main points, 
is an essential factor in developing the habit of 
economical study. 

The slow reader, in school and out, is handicapped. 
Courses of study are continually being made richer 
and broader; this demands more reading and greater 
discrimination. In life outside of school the demands 
made on the average person as a citizen and social 
being are increasing each year. In fact, success and 
happiness in life may depend largely upon the kind 
and scope of one's reading. 

Inability of pupils to read rapidly. Students in 
normal schools and colleges are also working under 
a handicap because the length of the assignments is 
increasing, although little is done to increase their 
rate of reading. The authors vividly recall an ex- 
perience which illustrates this variation in reading 
rates. The students in three elementary psychology 
classes in a certain normal school felt that an assign- 

27 



28 SILENT READING 

ment of from thirty to thirty-five pages was far too 
long. These mature men and women, former teachers, 
who were spending an average of three hours on each 
assignment, brought the matter to our notice in a 
friendly way. We thought it best to inquire into 
their habits of study. Since the three classes were 
in a study auditorium for the first two hours each 
morning, the instructor and three or four assistants 
undertook to measure the approximate reading rates 
of the students in an unobtrusive manner. The 
investigators found that although a few students 
read at the rate of a page per* minute, some spent 
as much as eight and three-fourths minutes on each 
page, and the majority of the class read at the rate 
of a page every four and one-fourth minutes. The 
reading rate of these adults was twelve to fourteen 
pages an hour, although it should have been at least 
forty pages an hour, considering the simplicity of 
the subject-matter. 

The discouraging feature of the outcome of this 
investigation was that even when those students did 
try to increase their rate of reading, they succeeded 
in doing so materially only when they were timing 
themselves. As soon as they failed to observe the 
time element of the experiment they relapsed into 
their usual rate, to which they had been accustomed 
since childhood. 

Wide variation in reading" rates. The wide varia- 
tion in the reading rates of pupils makes the task 



SPEED IN READING 29 

of increasing speed a very complex problem. Any 
teacher in any grade who will ask her pupils to read 
a given selection for a period of even three to five 
minutes can obtain sufficient data to demonstrate the 
wide variation in their reading rates. She will find 
that when measured for speed alone, pupils tend to 
fall into three groups, the noticeably slow readers, 
the medium-rate readers, and the very rapid readers. 
The following figures, which designate the number 
of words read per minute by a group of sixth-grade 
pupils, strikingly illustrate the sort of condition that 
one generally finds when making such an investiga- 
tion: 374, 374, 362, 238, 197, 188, 181, 174, 170, 152, 
145, 125, 121, 113, 98. 

In many cases this variation in reading rate ac- 
counts for the assignment being too easy for some, 
too difficult for others, but nearly right for one-third 
to one-half of the class. Drill exercises, instead of 
placing the pupils on a more nearly even footing by 
decreasing the amount of difference between the rates 
of various groups, tends to increase it. Suggestions 
for economically handling a class which contains 
these three types of readers may be found in 
Chapter XV. 

Monroe's experiments. Monroe gives the following 
statement of his conclusions regarding the probability 
of increasing the rate of silent reading: 

The average silent-reading rate of eighth-grade pupils 
is approximately 240 words per minute for continuous 



30 SILENT READING 

material. Scientific investigation is revealing that this 
rate may be greatly increased by the application of 
appropriate methods. On the basis of data already se- 
cured, it is conservative to say that this rate could be 
increased 25 per cent. As a matter of fact, it is even 
conservative to say that it could be increased 50 per 
cent. 

Silent reading is used as a tool in practically all 
subjects studied in the high school or in college. The 
pupil who is equipped to read at the rate of 300 words 
per minute has a decided advantage over the pupil 
who is equipped to read only 240 words per minute. 
It means that the pupil who reads more slowly either 
must spend more hours upon his work or do less work. 

Of two pupils who spend an equal number of hours 
upon their work in high school, the one who reads at 
the rate of 300 words per minute will accomplish one- 
fourth more than the pupil who reads at the rate of 
240 words per minute. This will mean that in the 
course of four years this pupil will do 25 per cent 
more work, which approximates the equivalent of an 
extra year of schooling. 

The data which we have at hand not only show that 
the rate may be increased, but also that the degree 
of comprehension can be materially increased, perhaps 
to an equal extent. Therefore, not only may pupils 
be trained to read more rapidly, but at the same time 
they may be trained to read with increased understand- 
ing. Thus, the pupil who has been trained to read at 
the rate of 300 words per minute not only will gain 
an extra year's schooling during his high-school course, 
but if his training has been of the right sort, he will 
actually do a better quality of work.^ 

Danger in speed drills. One of the fundamental 
aims of silent reading is that of training each child 

^Monroe, W. S. "Value of standardized silent-reading tests." 
Journal of Educational Research, Vol, 1, (February) 1920. 



SPEED IN READING 31 

to attain his highest level of achievement in speed 
without lowering his rate of comprehension. Al- 
though rapid reading, even ''skimming," is of great 
importance, yet one would hesitate to increase the 
speed of reading if training in thought-getting would 
be sacrificed in doing so. Many teachers have the idea 
that the one great value of silent reading is that it 
trains for speed. 

The authors have visited several of the leading 
city school systems and noted the great effort that 
teachers are making to help pupils acquire speed in 
reading. Some of them conduct reading classes in 
which the only direction given to the children is, 
''Read this lesson through once as rapidly as pos- 
sible.'' The teacher keeps a careful time check on 
each pupil. These time records are daily charted on 
the blackboard as an incentive to greater speed, not 
only for the individual but for the class as a whole. 

Many teachers have a three to five-minute time limit 
in their speed drills. They then count the number of 
lines or words read. These results are then placed 
on the blackboard as a means of motivating pupils 
to increase their speed. There are many other devices 
used to secure speed in reading, but the two men- 
tioned are typical of all. 

The methods described are pernicious, as are all 
schemes that have as their sole objective an increase 
of speed in reading. These devices develop slovenly, 
careless readers. The inborn desire to outdo others 



32 SILENT READING 

seizes the child, and since the teacher takes no ac- 
count of what the pupil comprehends or the amount 
of content which he retains, the result is reckless 
^'skimming," seeing words, and for many pupils, see- 
ing only lines. 

Value of effective speed drills. It is entirely pos- 
sible, however, to train the pupils of every grade 
to a high degree of efficiency in speed, and at the 
same time to increase their ability to get the main 
points or thoughts in the lesson. The methods for 
securing speed discussed above were condemned be- 
cause comprehension or thought-getting was entirely 
neglected. Had the teacher who used these devices 
for the purpose of training in getting speed also 
given the pupils a test to d^ermine how well they 
had got the thought of the lesson, then carefully 
charted those results, the ideal and habit of reading 
for thought would have been equally developed. 

Teachers who give daily drills for speed and com- 
prehension find that many students tend to read at 
great speed but with little comprehension. A cor- 
rective device for this evil consists in determining 
each pupil's class standing by the sum of his ranks 
in both speed and comprehension. An example of 
the conditions which that plan often reveals is shown 
in the case of a boy who usually ranked first in 
speed in a class of twenty-four, but twenty-second in 
comprehension. This speedy but careless reader had a 
total score of twenty-three which ranked him much 



SPEED IN READING 33 

lower than one of his classmates who was third in 
speed bnt first in thought-getting. It is an axiom that 
every speed drill in reading should be followed by a 
test of thought-getting. The results of Miss Green's 
experiment, presented in Chapter III, substantiate 
the claim that both speed and comprehension in silent 
reading may be greatly improved in a relatively short 
time. 

Gilliland's expenmem;.^ This investigation was an 
attempt to answer the questions: Can a reader speed 
up his reading rate without lowering his capacity to 
reproduce what he has read? What is the effect 
of different speeds of silent reading upon ability to 
recall what has been read? 

Two sets of six paragraphs each were chosen for 
the experiment. One set was for use with high-school 
and college students, the other for use with pupils of 
the fourth and seventh grades. The paragraphs in a 
set were relatively equal in difficulty but differed 
widely in content. Each paragraph included ten 
distinct ideas and contained fifty words. A paragraph 
chosen from each of the two sets is given below. 
Each paragraph was printed on a separate card. 

The Amazon is the longest river in the world. 
It drains most of the northern half of South 
America. Its mouth is along the equator. The 
rubber tree grows in this valley and the few 

iQilliland, A. R. "The effect of rate of silent reading on abil- 
ity to recall." Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol. 11, (No- 
vember) 1920. 



34 



SILENT READING 



people that live there spend most of their time 

making gum. 

{Selected from the material for grade pupils.) 

In person, William of Orange was above 
middle height. His eyes and complexion were 
brown. His head was small, portraying the 
alertness of a soldier. He was more than any- 
thing else religious. He went through life bear- 
ing the people's sorrows upon his shoulders 
with a smiling face. 

(Selected from the material for MgTirSChool and 
college students.) 

Each subject read at three different rates of speed, 
his normal rate, his maximum speed as controlled by 
the knowledge that he would be called upon to re- 
produce what he had read, and a rate of about 
half normal speed. As a rule this last speed was 
actually not nearly so slow as the subject was di- 
rected to read, but it was definitely slower than his 
normal rate. 



TABLE I 
Comprehension Scores 





Fourth - 

GRADE 

Pupils 


Seatbnth- 

GRADE 

Pupils 


High- 
school 
Students 


College 
Students 


Slow 

Normal 

Fast 


8.3 

8.25 

9.57 


11.1 
10.3 
11.04 


10.5 
8.56 
8.54 


10.6 
10.7 
9.75 



The above table indicates that fourth-grade pupils 
scored 8.3 ideas on the two paragraphs when read- 



SPEED IN READING 



35 



ing slowly, 8.25 ideas when reading at normal rate, 
and 9.57 ideas when reading rapidly. Thus it is 
evident that changing the rate of reading did not 
materially affect the comprehension. The table is to 
be interpreted in the same manner for the other 
groups. 

Generally the readers seemed to get about the same 
number of ideas whether they read rapidly, slowly, or 
at the normal rate. If there was an advantage, it 
seemed to be in favor of rapid reading for the chil- 
dren and slow reading for the older students. 

When v/e consider the time required to read the 
paragraphs, in relation to the amount of material 
gained from the reading, we see the great advantage 
of rapid reading as compared with slow or normal 
reading. There were 20 per cent fewer ideas gained 
per second in slow reading than in reading at the 
normal rate, and 26 per cent more ideas gained per 
second in rapid reading than in reading at the normal 
rate. This superiority of rapid reading is shown by 
each of the four groups of subjects tested. 



TABLE II 
Ideas Gained Per Second 





Fourth - 

GRADE 

Pupils 


Seventh - 

GRADE 

Pupils 


High- 
school 
Students 


College 
Students 


Slow 

Normal 

Fast 


.134 
.183 
.256 


.234 
.266 
.293 


.195 
.251 
.329 


.242 
.416 
.566 



36 SILENT READING 

The figures given in Table II clearly set forth 
the value of rapid reading. For instance, .134 ideas 
were gained per second when these fourth-grade 
pupils read slowly, and .256 ideas, nearly twice as 
many, were gained when the pupils read rapidly. 
Since the pupils obtained practically the same num- 
ber of ideas from each of the two paragraphs (as 
shown by Table I), whether they read at a slow, 
normal, or fast rate, the advantage and importance 
of reading these paragraphs rapidly (or in almost 
half the time required when the pupils read slowly) 
is significant. For example, fourth-grade pupils 
when reading slowly required 61.6 seconds to read 
the two paragraphs; they scored only 8.3 ideas. 
Dividing the comprehension score by the time gives 
.134 ideas per second. Pupils of this same grade, 
when requested to read rapidly, used only 37 seconds 
in reading the two paragraphs; they then obtained 
9.57 ideas. Using the method of computation sug- 
gested above gives .256 ideas per second. It is of 
course understood that pupils should not be urged to 
read so speedily that they exceed the rate at which 
one may expect them to comprehend the material 
read. 

, While there are unquestionably speed limits be- 
yond which we should not go, there seems little doubt 
that almost any one can materially increase his read- 
ing rate without perceptibly reducing the percentage 
of ideas which he can reproduce. If this is true, the 



SPEED IN READING 37 

teacher of reading who insists upon accurate, rapid, 
silent reading would be able to reduce not only the 
time required by pupils for preparing their lessons, 
but also greatly increase their efficiency in life, which 
is a matter of still greater importance. 

Physiological factors affecting speed. Perhaps no 
other institution has done as much research in an 
attempt to determine the physiological factors af- 
fecting reading as has the University of Chicago. By 



-z 3 



G 



[when Denny had regained consciousness, anp 
prything possible for his corifort and for me ai- 



Figure 1^ 

means of very delicate and extensive laboratory equip- 
ment and a group of trained experimenters it has 
been possible to gather many scientific data on the 
eye-movements of children and adults of various 
mental capacities when using different types of read- 
ing material. 

By means of photographic registrations Dearborn 
found that movements of the eye when reading are 
interrupted by distinct pauses or fixations. The sis 
pauses in the first line and the five in the second line 
of Figure 1 were made by an adult when reading. 

^After Charles H. Judd's "Reading: Its Nature and Development 
(p. 18). Supplementary Educational Monograph, Vol. 2, No. 4, 
(July) 1918. University of Chicago Press, Chicago. 



38 



SILENT READING 



/o 



I % 



There was 



X 9 



^ s 



'3 IS /Q 



ancth9r bird in i\w room, 



6 



/3 



a // 



ho\revep. 



% I 3 4- 



wLo 



kne 



/8 



w \^hat gi'asshoppers v^ere good for. He 



8 



/8 1% IS 
to 



/o 



/? 



"F'lK. 2. Silent reading- by a poor reader in the fifth grade. 
X indicates that it was impossible to determine with precision 
the leng'th of the pause. 



X5 



snatched a citlass from i\ 



2o 



e pile, and someone, 



♦I 



at th(! same time s: latching another, gave me a cut 



%o 



/o 



// 



iS 



Fig. 3. Silent reading by a rapid reader in the seventh grade. 
Each vertical line indicates one pause. The top number indi- 
cates the number .of the pause, the bottom number its duration 
in fiftieths of a second. 

After Samuel Chester Parker's figure in the Elementary 
School Journal, December, 1921. 



SPEED IN READING 39 

The number of pauses per line varies with different 
readers as shown by Figures 2 and 3 on page 38. 

From a physiological point of view, the main char- 
acteristics of slow reading are, many pauses or fixation- 
points, a considerable duration of time at each point, 
and a number of regressive movements or backward 
sweeps. 

As one should expect, the characteristics of rapid 
reading are, fewer pauses, a very short time duration 
at each pause, and a decrease in the number of regres- 
sive movements. 

Dearborn's conclusions. After much experimenting, 
Dearborn declares that each person has formed 
'''motor habits" in reading which are evidenced by 
a rhythmical series of the same number of pauses per 
line, and by a uniform time distribution at each fixa- 
tion-point. He also declares that the amount read 
in a sweep is seldom equal to the extent of the field 
of perception. In other words, at one ''eyeful'* 
pupils do not take in all the syllables and words that 
they are really able to see. Hence, speed in reading 
can be materially increased by enlarging the percep- 
tion-span. Exercises in which phrase cards are flashed 
are an effective^ means of lengthening the child's per- 
ception-unit. 

From such data any wide-awake teacher of reading 
may properly deduce the following conclusions : All 
methods or devices should tax the eye-span to the 
limit; that is, each child should be trained to see 



40 SILENT READING 

as many words as possible at each of his pauses or fixa- 
tion-points. All methods or devices used in the grades 
should aim to reduce the frequency of pauses or 
fixations. Since most of the reading time per line 
is consumed at the fixation-points, the teacher should 
use only those devices which lessen the time spent at 
each pause. Since one's rate of reading becomes a 
fixed motor habit, as difficult to change as is any 
other habit, great stress should be laid throughout 
the grades on forming motor habits of speed, ac- 
curacy, and stability because it is likely that by the 
time the pupils reach the seventh grade it will be 
difficult to change their motor habits in reading. 

The old ABC method, our present overemphasis 
of word and phonic methods, and the undue emphasis 
placed on oral reading in the lower grades, are some 
of the outstanding causes of the present slow rate of 
reading. The evil effects of these methods are fully 
treated in later chapters. The particular methods 
and devices one should use to insure the functioning 
of the above principles are fully discussed and demon- 
strated by sample lessons for each grade in Part II. 
Any method which does not to a marked degree tax 
the child's ability in speed and comprehension should 
be discarded. 

Hygienic factors affecting speed. The print of the 
page is of great importance because the length of line 
afi^ects the motor habits, and because the length of 
line and size of type may produce eyestrain and 



SPEED IN READING 41 

fatigue. Experiments have proven that the lines in 
our textbooks are usually too long. Dearborn favors 
'a line about one-third longer than that usually used 
in a newspaper. That length enables the reader to 
get concurrent impressions from the lines immediately 
above and below the one being read, with which they 
are often closely related in thought. Long lines of 
reading matter distract because the concurrent im- 
pressions received from the lines immediately above 
and below the one being read are unrelated to the 
object of immediate attention. When the lines are 
too long, they give no opportunity for a wide span 
of attention; the peripheral perceptions from the 
ends of a line arc too different and confused to aid 
the reader in inferring the general nature of the linens 
content. 

Since the number of pauses per line and the time 
spent at each pause affect the speed of reading, 
short lines make it possible for the reader to gather 
a general notion of the thought in the w^hole line 
at the initial fixation. This in turn makes the fol- 
lowing pauses in the line few in number, and the dura- 
tion of each pause much less. In short, we guess 
much in our reading, or read *'out of the tail of the 
eye,'* so to speak. It is well to remark that reading 
familiar subject-matter helps pupils to establish wider 
perception-units. 

Size of type is often regarded as an important 
factor affecting the speed of reading. Judd states, 



42 SILENT READING 

however, that there is only a slight change in the 
number of words recognized at each fixation when 
the size of the type is doubled. When the size 
is reduced by half, the character of the eye-move- 
ments undergoes only a slight change. 

The effect of irregular indentation or of breaks 
in a line, such as often occur around illustrations, 
is detrimental to speed Avhen reading and often causes 
early fatigue. The occasional change of muscular 
motor adjustment and angular displacement slows up 
the rate of reading by causing longer pauses at 
fixations and by causing many cases of refixation, 
that is, coming back over the word. This muscular 
readjustment soon causes fatigue which may result 
in serious eyestrain, if reading is long continued. 
For that reason those primers with the open-page 
appearance, large type, good spacing, and words 
grouped in natural phrases are to be highly recom- 
mended, because such an arrangement of material 
promotes word grouping. 

Other factors affecting speed. The psychological 
and environmental factors that affect speed and com- 
prehension properly belong to the next chapter. The 
child's rate of reading depends largely on his ability 
quickly to comprehend new situations, and this in 
turn may be influenced by the range of his experi- 
ences. Quick word recognition depends upon the 
physiological and mechanical factors discussed, and 
upon the psychological as well. 



SPEED IN READING 43 

SUMMARY 

1. Silent reading is a means of training pupils in effec- 
tive methods of study; hence, the silent-reading period 
should be used to develop that skill. 

2. Speed in reading is one of the requisites which an 
economical method of study demands. 

3. Experiments indicate that pupils and adults are far 
below their possible achievements in rate of reading, 
and that the speed, and comprehension abilities of pupils 
may be increased at the same time. 

4. Physiological factors, viz., eye-span and duration at the 
fixation-points, are important factors that must be seri- 
ously considered and taken into account in all methods 
of teaching reading. 

5. Mechanical factors, viz., length of line and size of type, 
help to determine the rate of speed and fatigue. 

6. Teachers should discard all methods of teaching silent 
reading which do not encourage a pupil to read as 
rapidly as possible without detriment to thought-getting. 

SUGGESTED READINGS 

Abell, Adelaide. "Rapid reading: Advantages and method." 
Educational Revieto, Vol. 8 (October) 1894. 

Bowden, Josephine. "Learning to read." (An unpublished 
master's dissertation offered to the University of Chicago 
in 1911.) 

Dearborn, Walter F. "The psychology of reading." Colunv- 
Ma University Contributions to PMlosophy and Psy- 
chology, Vol. 14, No. 1, 1906. 

Gray, Clarence T. Types of Reading AHlity as ExMMted 
Through Tests and Laboratory Experiments. Supplemen- 
tary Educational Monographs, Vol. 1, No. 5, (August) 1917. 
University of Chicago Press, Chicago. 

Judd, Charles H. Reading: Its Nature and Development. 
Supplementary Educational Monographs, Vol. 2, No. 4, 
(July) 1918. University of Chicago Press, Chicago. 



44 



SILENT READING 



O'Brien, John A. Silent Reading. The Macmillan Com- 
pany, New York City, 1921. 

Peters, Charles C. "The influence of speed drills upon the 
rate and effectiveness of silent reading." Journal of 
Educational Psychology, Vol. 16, No. 1, 1907. 

Quantz, J. O. "Problems in the psychology of reading." 
Psychological Review: Monograph Supplement, Vol. 2, 
No. 1, (December) 1897. 

Ruediger, William C. "The field of distinct vision." Co- 
lumMa University Contributions to Philosophy and Psy- 
chology, Vol. 16, No. 1, 1907. 

Schmidt, William A. An Experimental Study in the Psy- 
chology of Reading. Supplementary Educational Mono- 
graphs, Vol. 1, No. 2, (April) 1917. University of Chi- 
cago Press, Chicago. 

Whipple, G. M. and Curtis, Josephine. "Preliminary in- 
vestigation of 'skimming' in reading," Journal of Educa- 
tional Psychology, Vol. 8, (June) 1917. 



CHAPTER III 

DEVELOPING THE ABILITY TO COMPREHEND 

The importance of comprehension. On the pre- 
ceding pages we have repeatedly emphasized the fact 
that the silent-reading period should nearly all be 
devoted to teaching pupils right methods of study. 
The good student is one who rapidly reads his lesson 
through once, and at the same time is able to com- 
prehend the content of what he reads. Developing 
skill in thought-getting, as well as training in increas- 
ing speed, is absolutely essential in teaching pupils how 
to study. 

Training in quick apprehension and in comprehen- 
sion is the important task, because it is the basis of 
the pupil's possible progress in all subjects. Failure 
to solve arithmetic problems is often due to inability 
accurately to read the conditions set forth. Whether 
the subject-matter is geography, history, grammar, or 
hygiene, the pupil's success depends largely upon 
his ability to get the meaning from the printed page. 
This ability is almost entirely a product of training ; 
the logical and ideal time to give specific drill in de- 
veloping it is during the silent-reading period. 

Comprehension neg-lected. Training children to 

45 



46 niLENT READING 

comprehend has been and is now the most neglected 
factor in teaching reading. Horace Mann, in his 
Second Annual Report as the Secretary of the Massa- 
chusetts Board of Education, in 1838 wrote as follows: 

I have devoted especial pains to learn, with some de- 
gree of numerical accuracy, how far the reading in 
our schools is an exercise of the mind in thinking and 
feeling, and how far it is a barren action of the organs 
of speech upon the atmosphere. My information is de- 
rived, principally, from the written statements of the 
school committees of the respective towns — gentlemen 
who are certainly exempt from all temptation to dis- 
parage the schools they superintend. The result is, that 
more than eleven-twelfths of all the children in read- 
ing classes, in our schools, do not understand the mean- 
ing of the words they read; that they do not master 
the sense of the reading lessons, and that the ideas 
and feelings intended by the author to be conveyed to, 
and excited in, the reader's mind, still rest in the au- 
thor's intention, never having yet reached the place 
of their destination. And by this it is not meant that 
the scholars do not obtain such a full comprehension 
of the reading lessons in its various relations and bear- 
ings, as a scientific or erudite reader would do, but 
that they do nX)t acquire a reasonable and practicable 
understanding of them. It would hardly seem that 
the combined efforts of all persons engaged could have 
accomplished more in defeating the true objects of read- 
ing. 

We have made great progress in teaching reading, 
especially in the primary grades, since the time of 
Horace Mann, but we have scarcely begun to do the 
work right. Thousands of teachers continue the 
traditional method of hearing the children read 



COMPREHENSION 47 

throughout the whole recitation period. They ask 
very few, if any, questions about the content. Most 
of the questions pertain to enunciation, inflection, 
and the omission, insertion, or mispronunciation of 
words. The pupils sit listlessly in their seats, waiting 
only for their turn to drawl through, or possibly to 
declaim, a paragraph or two. The idea of testing 
the pupil's comprehension of what he reads and his 
ability to retain the main points of each paragraph 
seems foreign to teachers of reading in many schools. 
A typical lesson. The following is part of the 
stenographic report of a sixth-grade reading lesson 
observed in a city school. The report records verbatim 
every question asked and every suggestion that re- 
sembled a question, except in two instances when a 
few pupils talked among themselves so inaudibly that 
_one could not hear distinctly. The title of the lesson 
was *' Henry Hudson." 

Teacher: Open your books to the lesson. What is 
the title of the lesson? Who was Henry 
Hudson? 
Then folloAved a dispute as to whether Hudson was 

an Englishman or a Dutchman. 

Teacher: Let us proceed with our reading now. 
Had you read this lesson carefully you 
would have known Hudson was no Dutch- 
man. Metha, you may begin. 
The pupil read the first paragraph. While she was 

reading, eleven of the twenty-three pupils were looking 

about the room apparently wool gathering. 



48 SILENT READING 

The name of this bold sailor will be learned by every 
boy or girl who studies geography. Most of us know 
of the beautiful Hudson River, the finest stream of water 
in the great Empire State, New York. A noted strait 
and bay are named also for this hardy captain of the 
sea. 

Teacher: Did any of you see any mistakes? 

Pupil: Please, teacher, she did not say ''geo- 
graphy" right. 

Teacher: How should it be pronounced? (The pupil 
then articulated the word.) Any other sug- 
gestions ? 

Pupil: She didn't stop or even raise her voice be- 
tween "Empire State" and "New York." 

Teacher: That's right. Remember, children, these 
commas and periods mean something. Next, 
Sarah, you read. 

The pupil read the second paragraph very well. One 
boy was quietly sharpening his pencil, two others were 
whispering, another was whirling his knife, and a girl 
was adjusting a ribbon. 

Hudson was English born and English bred. He sailed 
on the great Atlantic Ocean first in an English ship, 
to find a passage to far-away China. He sailed to the 
northwest in the hope that he would find a way open 
to the Pacific across the North Pole, or not far below 
it. The brave captain saw mountains of ice, and he 
went nearer the North Pole than any one had ever done 
before, but he could not find the passage he was looking 
for. 

Teacher: Any corrections? 

Pupil: No, but which way and about how far is 
China from here? 
The teacher gave a fair answer. Two pupils then 
asked questions relative to the meaning of "English 



COMPREHENSION 49 

bred" and ''ice mountains," which seemed to be an- 
swered by two others near the questioner. 
Teacher: Robert we'll have you read. Maybe you 
will forget playing with your knife awhile. 
The pupil read very plainly and rather flippantly, 
much to the disgust of some and to the joy of others 
in the class. 

The Dutch people in Holland heard of Hudson's voy- 
age, and a company of merchants of that country hired 
. Captain Hudson to see if he could find a. passage from 
Amsterdam in a vessel called the Half Moon. He sailed 
and sailed, a long distance, until at last the sailors 
became so tired of seeing nothing but fog and ice, that 
they refused to go any farther. 
Teacher: What corrections have you to make? 
Robert: (Ignoring her question.) I'd like to know 
why they tried to get through the northeast 
and northwest. Why didn't they go around 
South America ? 
Teacher: That is not my question. Pupils, have you 

any suggestions about Robert's reading 1 
Pupil: He read so fast, and didn't stop at periods, 

and put in words. 
Teacher: Anything else? 

Another Pupil: Yes, he left out ''so" and "that." 

Teacher: You are right. Now Catherine, you may 

read the next two paragraphs. Robert, you 

please see if there is any difference between 

your reading and Catherine's. 

The pupil read with ease and good expression. 

Then he turned his ship toward the coast of North 
America. He did this because his friend. Captain John 
Smith, had sent him a letter, with a map, which made 
him think that such a passage might be found. Hudson 
reached Chesapeake Bay, but the weather was so stormy 



50 SILENT READING 

that he did not think it safe to enter it. He sailed, 
instead, northward along the coast. 

In September, 1609, he came to a beautiful bay formed 
by the spreading out of a noble river. At that point 
the stream is more than a mile in width, and he called 
it the "Great River," Not far from its mouth, and on 
the eastern side, is a long narrow island. The Indians 
called it "Manhattan Island." Hudson soon noticed that 
the Great River had hardly any current, and that the 
tide from the ocean moved with great force into the 
river. This made him think it was a salt river. Perhaps 
he had at last found the passage he was seeking, the 
passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific. 

Teacher: Wouldn't you call that good reading 1 Have 

yon any questions? 
Pupil: What is meant by a '*tide"1 
Teacher: It is the rise and fall of water every now 

and then. 
Pupil: I don't see how it could go up a river. 
Teacher: We will take that up in our geography 

lesson some day. Benjamin, you may read. 
The pupil read fairly well. Not more than five of 
the twenty-three pupils paid attention to the one read- 
ing or to their books. 

Hudson was greatly pleased with all he saw, and he 
said, "This is as beautiful a land as one can tread upon." 
He soon began to sail up the stream, wondering what 
he should see, and v/hether he should find the Pacific 
Ocean. First he passed the Palisades, a great natural 
wall of rock, from four to six hundred feet high. This 
extends for nearly twenty miles along the western shore 
of the river. Then, higher up, where the stream breaks 
through great forest-covered hills, he came to a place 
"which we call the Highlands. 

Teacher: Was that all risfht? 



COMPREHENSION 51 

Pupil: Too slow. Do you suppose the Indians 

built the Palisades? 
Teacher: Why, no; they were always there. 
Pupil: Is a ''natural wall" a stone wall? 

As the teacher seemed not to appreciate the pupil's 
difficulty, she shook her head and smiled. 

Failure to utilize the pupil's interests. It has not 

seemed worth while to report the remainder of the 
lesson, because the teacher asked the same type of ques- 
tions at the close of every paragraph. We may remark, 
however, that this teacher heard almost the whole les- 
son without asking a question that would test the 
pupil's comprehension, arouse his interest, or stimulate 
his appreciation. She missed an opportunity to in- 
crease the children's geographical and historical knowl- 
edge of the Hudson River, Hudson Bay, England, Hol- 
land, China, the Atlantic Ocean, Chesapeake Bay, the 
Highlands, and Amsterdam. It is evident that the 
terms ''English bred," "natural wall," "mountains 
of ice," "tide," and "salt water" were not understood. 
But the teacher 's greatest error was in ignoring the 
boy's question as to why Hudson was trying for a 
northwest passage to Asia. Had this question been 
thoroughly discussed and answered by the pupils, they 
would have comprehended, as never before, the lack of 
geographical knowledge during the seventeenth century, 
and certainly they could have been led to a keen appre- 
ciation of the progress made in that field of knowledge 
since then. Besides, the answer to that question would 



52 SILENT READING 

have made clear the motive force that drove Hudson 
on and on, even to his tragic death. The teacher over- 
looked all siach possibilities; she emphasized neither 
speed nor comprehension in reading. The tragedy of 
the whole situation is that such teaching is today not 
the exception but the rule in many of the best school 
systems. What may it be, then, in many of the villages 
and rural districts? 

The teacher's problem. The preceding report is 
indicative of what happens daily during the reading 
period in many of our schools. Time so spent is 
worse than wasted, for the pupils are not only failing 
to learn anything of value, but they are forming habits 
of slothful, careless thinking which will accompany 
them through life. Teachers who accept such lessons 
fail to use an opportunity to stimulate and train the 
minds of pupils; they fail to see the problem of how 
best to train pupils to the highest possible level of 
achievement in getting the substance of an article at 
a single rapid reading. To do that should be the 
aim of every teacher during the silent-reading period. 
If teachers are to realize that aim they must create a 
desire in the pupil for rapid and thoughtful reading, 
and use only those methods and devices which will tend 
to make speedy and purposeful reading a habit. 

In conjunction with creating wholesome reading at- 
titudes and habits in the child, methods and devices 
must be used to increase his vocabulary, stimulate his 
interests, and widen his experience so that he will 



COMPREHENSION ' 53 

be able to apprehend new situations more accurately. 
Methods of developing skill in thought-getting are dis- 
cussed in Chapter IV, and many sample lessons demon- 
strating how this may be secured economically appear 
in Part II. In every lesson the child should be given 
a thorough test as a means of discovering his difficulties 
and noting his progress. 

Yoakam's experiment.^ Professor Gerald A. Yoakam 
recently demonstrated by experiment that comprehen- 
sion or thought-getting is badly neglected in some 
schools. His problem was the determination of the 
value of a single reading. 

Yoakam used six selections: *'The Admiralty Is- 
landers," ''Tuberculosis," "Medieval Castles," ''Pea- 
nuts," "Chasing a Rainbow," and "The Government 
of Switzerland," which included examples of narration, 
description, and- exposition. He decided that this wide 
range of subject-matter used with a large number of 
cases would insure a reasonably accurate measure of the 
value of a single reading and also indicate the type of 
material that pupils most readily comprehend. The 
experiment was conducted in the sixth, seventh, and 
eighth grades; the results represent the scores made by 
more than 500 pupils. An initial test was given in 
order to determine how much the pupils already knew 
about the subject-matter, so that the value of a single 

iToakam, Gerald A. "The effect of a single reading-." (An 
excerpt from an unpublished doctor's dissertation offered to the 
State University of Iowa in 1920.) Tioentieth Yearbook of the 
National Society for the Study of Education: Part II. Public 
School Publishing Company, Bloomington, Illinois, 1921, 



54 



SILENT READING 



reading might be isolated. The pupils were asked to 
read the article through once, and were then subjected 
to a thorough written test. 

The results of a single reading of *'The Admiralty 
Islanders" by pupils in each of the grades is given 
here in terms of the average scores of each grade. 

Grade VIII VII VI V IV 

20.9% 19% 16.6% 14.6% 7.5% 

The results obtained when the pupils read the other 
five articles once and were immediatel}^ given a written 
test are further evidence of their inability to grasp the 
main points of a lesson at a single reading. The fol- 
lowing figures are the average scores made by pupils 
of the sixth-grade class after reading the articles in- 
dicated. The results were obtained by subtracting the 
score made on the initial test from that made on the 
immediate-recall test. It may be observed that the 
average score made by pupils who read the simplest 
narrative material, "Chasing a Rainbow," was only 
one-third of the possible score. 



Article 
Tuberculosis 

Medieval Castles 

Peanuts 

Government of Switzerland 

Chasing a Rainbow 



Average 
Score 
16.8% 

21.1% 

25.6%, 
23.9%, 
33.2% 



Grermane's experiments.^ Additional data which 
corroborate the trustworthiness of Yoakam's findings 

■^Germane, Edith G. "Relationship between speed and compre- 
hension in silent reading." (An unpublished master's dissertation 
offered to the State University of Iowa in 1920.) 



COMPREHENSION 55 

are contained in a study by Edith G. Germane, in 
which she determined the valne of a single reading, 
plus what the pupils might have already known about 
the subject. She conducted her experiment in the sixth, 
seventh, and eighth grades of two schools in a repre- 
sentative Iowa city. The 286 pupils who took part 
in the study were asked to read carefully a nine-page 
article on "Peanuts." After a single reading they 
were given a test on the material read. The results 
of this experiment are summarized below. 

TABLE III 
(Possible score 58 points.) 

Grade VI VII VIII 

Range 0-30 3-38 6-38 

Average in points 11.2 15.4 19.8 

Average in per cent 18.3 26.5 34.1 

The table shows that the number of correct answers 
made by the pupils in the sixth grade ranged from 
to 30. Some pupils were unable to answer a single 
question at the end of a single reading; the highest 
score was 30 points out of a possible 58. The average 
score of the pupils in this grade was 11.2 points or 
18.3 per cent of the possible score. A careful analysis 
of these data shoAvs that there are wide individual 
differences among pupils of the sixth, seventh, and 
eighth grades and that the result of a single reading 
by those pupils is on an average comparatively low. 

Germane 's stud^^ shows a higher score of percentage 
value for the pupils who read the article through once 



56 SILENT READING 

than does Yoakam's study. It must be borne in mind, 
however, that these percentages include not only the 
gain made b}^ a single reading, but they also represent 
the value of a single reading plus whatever knowledge 
of the subject the pupil may have had before reading. 
Both studies show conclusively that when one considers 
the present reading ability of children, it is apparent 
that a single reading does not by any means furnish 
sufficient preparation for a lesson. Nevertheless, the 
ideal for which we should strive is to have pupils show 
a relatively high degree of ability to comprehend and 
retain what they read, even after a single reading. 
We believe that ideal can be attained by systema^tic 
training in methods of study. 

Some, teachers may say that the use of'^a single read- 
ing to measure children's ability to comprehend is 
unfair and impractical. They maintain that if the 
pupils had been given an opportunity to read the les- 
son at least three times, the scores would have shown 
that they have much thought-getting ability. That 
contention is refuted by data obtained in an experi- 
ment performed by the authors. It consisted of three 
tests given 450 pupils. The tests were based on the 
articles ^'Immigration," "Peanuts," and "Tubercu- 
losis." In each experiment the pupils were asked to 
read one of the articles through as many times as 
possible in a thirty-minute period. They were informed 
that at the conclusion of the period they w^ould be 
given a thorough written test on the article read. The 



COMPREHENSION 57 

findings indicated below have been accepted as trust- 
wortby. 

TABLE IV 

Results Based ox Reading the Article "Peanuts" 

(Possible score 58 points.) 



Grade 
VI 


Average 
Readings 
3 


Average Score 

IN Points 

18 


Average Score 

in Per Cent 

31% 


VII 


4 


20 


34% 


VIII 


4 


26 


45% - 


Results 


Based on Reading 


the Article 


"Immigration" 




(Possible score 65 points.) 




Grade 
VI 


Average 
Readings 
2 


Average Score 

IN Points 

14 


Average Score 

IN Per Cent 

21% 


VII 


3 


17 


26% 


VIII 


3 


25 


38% 



The low scores reported are conclusive proof that 
pupils have little ability to comprehend. Some people 
maintain that a single reading of an assignment is not 
sufficient preparation. The fact that sixth-grade pupils 
answered only 25.6 per cent of the questions after 
reading the article ''Peanuts" once confirms such a 
contention. But does frequent re-reading materially 
increase the number of thought units which a pupil is 
likely to gain? The data given above indicate a 
negative answer. For example, sixth-grade pupils who 
read the lesson an average of three times answered only 
31 per cent of the questions, although pupils of an- 
other sixth grade who were of the same educational 
status, as determined by tests, answered 25.6 per cent 
of the questions after only a single reading. 



58 SILENT READING 

Although these comparisons are crude, they suggest 
that it is not the number of readings which insures 
comprehension and retention, but rather the ability 
of pupils to concentrate and understand. The in- 
ability of pupils to understand the questions asked is 
shown by their ludicrous answers, some of which we 
have reproduced in following paragraphs. Since good 
reading is measured largely by the number of thought 
units or ideas which one is able to comprehend in a 
given time, instead of by the number of lines read, 
the problem of the teacher is to develop skill in thought- 
getting. Exercises in oral and silent reading should 
meet this important need. In fact, the teacher should 
emphasize comprehension during both the study hour 
and the recitation period. 

A comparison of these scores with those made by 
pupils of like grades in another city school system 
who read the article only once, shows that the results 
that accrue from a re-reading are not commensurate 
with the extra expenditure of time. The results ob- 
tained by testing those who read the article on "Tu- 
berculosis" were correspondingly low. Thus there is 
evidence to show that the average pupil does not read 
efficiently, or, in other words, that he does not know 
how to study. 

In order to acquaint the reader with the kind of 
questions used in the experiment just described, and 
to show what kind of answers some pupils gave to 
those questions, we give the following excerpts from 



COMPREHENSION 59 

the material used. It should be borne in mind that 
the answer to each question was to be found in the 
assignment, and that usually an entire paragraph was 
devoted to it. 

QUESTIONS BASED ON THE ARTICLE '' PEANUTS " 

1. How long are peanut vines left on the ground 

before stacking? 
Correct answer': 3 or 4 hours. 
Among the answers given by 6.4 per cent of the 

pupils Avere the following : 3 or 4 feet ; 18 

inches ; 2 feet ; 3 or 4 weeks. 

2. When should peanuts be planted"] 

Correct answer: In the spring, a trifle later than 

beans and corn. 
Among the answers given by 5.1 per cent of the 

pupils were the following: In the fall; before 

the late frosts; in July. 

3. What should be the distance between the rows? 
Correct ansicer: 36 inches. 

Among the answers given by 6.2 per cent of the 
pupils were the following: 36 feet; 6 inches; 
18 inches. 

4. What effect does the peanut have on the soil? 
Correct answer: It restores nitrogen. 

Among the answers given by 9.3 per cent of the 
pupils were the following : Hard on the soil ; 
takes nitrogen out of the soil; runs do^vn the 
soil. 

5. What soil is best suited to raising peanuts? 
Correct ansirer: A sandy loam, light in color. 
Among the answers given by 8.1 per cent of the 

pupils were the following: Clay; clay-loam, 



60 SILENT READING 

black mulch; good soil; brownish clay; Iowa 
soil. 

QUESTIONS BASED ON THE ARTICLE '' IMMIGRATION " 

1. Name five nationalities that came from northern 

Europe by thousands immediately after the 
Civil War and made use of the Homestead Act. 

Correct ansiver: Norwegians, Danes, Swedes, Ger- 
mans, and Irish. 

Among the answers given by 7.7 per cent of 
the pupils were the following: Italians, 
Serbians, Chinese, Japanese, Hungarians, and 
Turks. 

2. To which of these nationalities does the author 

give special praise? 
Correct answer: To the Scandinavians, because 

they became thrifty farmers and built churches 

and schools. 
The following answers were given by 11.3 per 

cent of the pupils : To the Jews, because they 

are good cloth makers ; to the Turks, because, 

they peddled stuif cheaply; to the Hungarians 

and Serbians, because they worked on railroads; 

to the Irish, because they engaged in politics; 

to the Chinese, because they cheapened laundry; 

to the Italians, because they have fruit stores. 

QUESTIONS BASED ON THE ARTICLE '' TUBERCULOSIS " 

1. What effect has a healthy body on the growth of 

the tuberculosis germ? 
Correct answer: Because of the resistance which 

it offers, it is an unfavorable place for their 

development. 
The following answers were given by 13.3 per cent 



COMPREHENSION 61 

of the pupils: Eich food for the germ; body 
is good food when healthy. 
2. What is the effect of sunlight on the tubercle 
bacillus "I 
Correct ansiver: Kills the germ. 
The following answers were given by 10.6 per 
cent of the pupils : Makes them grow ; a fine 
thing for germs; all germs need heat and sun- 
light; causes them to multiply rapidly. 

The above answers would serve for amusement did 
they not indicate the reading comprehension ability of 
a large number of pupils. If the data in this chapter 
do not convince one that school children have little 
ability to comprehend what they read, one should make 
an assignment of factual reading material, then sub- 
ject the pupils to a reasonable test. The results may 
surprise both teacher and pupils. No one factor in 
reading so handicaps a pupil in life as his inability to 
comprehend what he reads. 

Comprehension may be improved. The responsi- 
bility for promoting improvement in the ability to 
comprehend rests almost entirely with the teacher, 
since efficiency in speed and comprehension is largely 
the result of training. Miss Mabel Green, third-grade 
teacher in the experimental school of the State Uni- 
versity of Iowa, conducted an experiment^ in one of 
her classes which shows that teachers can increase the 
pupils' ability to read rapidly and to comprehend. 

^Green, Mabel. "The effect of specific drill exercises in silent 
reading-." (An unpublished study prepared at the State Uni- 
versity of Iowa in 1918.) 



62 SILENT READING 

At the beginning of the month the teacher gave the 
pupils a storj^ to read. From that she determined their 
reading rate; she measured their comprehension ability 
by means of a written test. During the rest of the 
month the teacher daily gave special drill exercises 
emphasizing speed and comprehension, and used mod- 
ern devices and lessons to keep the pupils working at 
their highest level of achievement. At the end of the 
month she again tested the pupils for speed and com- 
prehension. 

The result of a month's specialized drill was indeed 
encouraging. At the beginning of the month the aver- 
age rate of reading was 180 words 'per minute. On 
the second test, at the end of the month, the rate was 
240 words per minute, an average gain of 33 per cent. 
The gain in comprehension was even more striking. 
At the beginning of the month the average score was 
.18, at the end 29, a gain of 61 per cent. 

The most astonishing fact which the experiment re- 
vealed is that the gain in comprehension was much 
greater than the gain in speed. In fact, it was almost 
twice as great. One should expect a gain in both, 
but to have so great an increase in comprehension is 
certainly encouraging to teachers. However, it is not 
to be assumed that such progress can be made monthly 
in this grade or any other. Miss Green is a teacher 
of rare ability w^ho worked under ideal conditions. 

Stone and Colvin's experiment.^ This investigation 

^Stone, C. W., and Colvin. Carl. "How to study as a source 
of motive in educational psycholog-y." Journal of Educational 
Psychology, Vol. 11, (September) 1920. 



COMPREHENSION" 63 

showed that when one employs a correct method and 
uses the factor of interest, speed and comprehension in 
silent reading may be greatly increased in a relatively 
short time. The studj^ extended over a period of 
eighteen weeks and was made on forty-five subjects, 
undergraduate students of educational psychology in 
the University of Illinois. The motive and chief topic 
of interest in the course was the subject ''How to 
Study." Having been asked to list the factors which 
they thought most affect the efficiency of study, the 
students unanimously agreed that increasing the ability 
to read silently affords most help in improving study 
habits. Two plans were used to obtain the desired 
help: (1) Controlled practice, i. e., reading for a 
specific purpose when under time pressure, (2) a study 
of the psychology of the silent-reading process. The 
chief topics of study were : 

Reading as a tool of study. 
The relation of rate to comprehension. 
The importance of adequate motivation. 
■ The relation of reading to language instinct. 
The element of habit in reading. 
The perception of meaning. 
Eye-movements. 
The effect of articulation. 
The neurone-sjraapse-bond hypothesis. 
The work curve. 

The controlled practice consisted of reading (1) 
works on educational psychology for thirty fifty-minute 
periods, (2) such material as usually appears on the 



64 SILENT READING 

first page of ''The Outlook" for an additional five 
periods. Abont twenty units of the time used for read- 
ing works on educational psychology were spent on 
comparatively easy books such as Kirkpatrick's Indi- 
viduals in the Making, Strayer and Norsworthy's How 
to Study, and Seashore's Psychology in Daily Life. 
The remaining ten units of practice in reading educa- 
tional psychology were spent on Thorndike's Briefer 
Course in Psychology. 

Results of the experiment. As measured by a test 
on the reading of educational psychology, the mem- 
bers of the class increased their capabilities by more 
than one-half. As measured by Monroe's Standardized 
Silent-reading Test with Stone's Extensions, the aver- 
age score in rate of reading after practice and study 
was 74 per cent greater than the score made before. 
The score in comprehension after practice and study 
was 84 per cent greater than that made before. 
These students gained almost three times as much in 
rate of speed, and fully three and one-half times as 
much in rate of comprehension, as those members of 
a check class who did not receive the special practice 
and training in silent reading. At the conclusion of 
the experiment, the average student who did the 
practice and study had 180 per cent of the rate 
ability of a group of 405 students who did not re- 
ceive the special training. 

Some students made gains of more than 190 per 
cent in comprehension and 160 per cent in speed. 



COMPREHENSION ^5 

Contrary to the usual experience, the students with 
the lowest initial scores made the greatest gains, a 
phenomenon that the authors are unable to account 
for. 

The reports of students who took part in this 
experiment show that some benefited from one fea- 
ture of it, others benefited from other features. This 
was to be expected because of the different features 
included in the experiment. The adage, ''Nothing 
succeeds like success," found a counterpart in the 
new one, *' Nothing aids reading like reading." One 
factor responsible for the successful outcome of the 
undertaking was the reguirement that each student 
read a certain piece of material for a definite length 
of time. Under the stimulus of this exercise the 
students did more reading in educational psychology 
than they ordinarily would have done. That helped 
to increase reading ability. Following a definite 
program and exerting an effort to concentrate while 
reading seemed to be the causes chiefly responsible 
for the increased rate of speed and the increasd ability 
to comprehend what was read. 

The experiment in the high school. A similar ex- 
ercise conducted with a class of high-school boys 
seems to prove the same fact. Apparently unable 
to concentrate, the boys were reading their lessons 
several times in an effort to master the content, but 
nevertheless they continued unable to get satisfactory 
results. After a few weeks of directed practice these 



66 SILENT READING 

high-school students were able to get the thought 

from the text in much less time than formerly, and 

their rate of speed also increased noticeably. The 

students themselves, at first believing that the slower 

readers got more from the text than did the faster 

ones, changed their opinions at the conclusion of the 

experiment. 

SUMMARY 

1. It is of the utmost importance to train pupils to read 
purposefully and with a high degree of comprehension. 

2. Developing the ability to get thought, and skill in doing 
so, have been neglected. This is shown by Horace 
Mann's Reijort as well as by scientific data. 

3. Some of the present methods of teaching reading are 
responsible for the inability of pupils to comprehend, 
since many reading periods are devoted only to hearing 
pupils read without any attempt to test comprehension. 

4. The teachers' problem is twofold: The development 
of an attitude or desire for purposeful, thoughtful read- 
ing. The discovery of methods and devices that will 
most efficiently develop the ability to comprehend. 

5. The value of a single reading as an aid to comprehen- 
sion and memory is low. On one occasion even the 
reading of the assignment three times did not yield 
results commensurate wath the time and effort spent. 

6. The ridiculous answers given by many pupils clearly 
demonstrate their low comprehension power. 

7. Rate of reading and the ability to comprehend can be 
greatly increased in a short time. 

8. The chief function of silent reading is to teach pupils 
how to study effectively. 

SUGGESTED READINGS 
Fordyce, Charles. "Testing efficiency in reading." Addresses 
and Proceedings of the National Education Association, 
Vol. 55, pp. 818-21, (July) 1917. 



COMPREHENSION" 07 

Gray, Clarence T. Types of Reading AtiUty as Exhibited 
Through Tests and Laboratory Experiments. Supplemen- 
tary Educational Monographs, Vol. 1, No. 5, (August) 
1917. University of Chicago Press, Chicago. 

Gray, William S. "Principles of method in teaching read- 
ing, derived from scientific investigations." The Eighteenth 
Year'book of the "National Society for the Study of Edu- 
cation: Part II. Public School Publishing Company, 
Bloomington, Illinois, 1919. 

Huey, Edmund B. The Psychology and Pedagogy of Reading. 
The Macmillan Company, New York City, 1916. 

Judd, Charles H. Measuring the Work of the Public 
Schools. Publication of the Survey Committee of the 
Cleveland Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio, 1916. 

Oberholtzer, E. E. "Testing the efficiency of reading in the 
grades." Elementary School Journal, Vol. 15, (February) 
1915. 

Peters, Charles C. "The influence of speed drills upon the 
rate and effectiveness of silent reading." Journal of Edu- 
cational Psychology, Vol. 8, (June) 1917. 

Thorndike, Edward L. "Reading as reasoning: A study 
of mistakes in paragraph reading." Journal of Educa- 
tional Psychology, Vol. 8, (June) 1917. 



, >' 



CHAPTER IV 
DEVELOPING THE ABILITY TO ORGANIZE 

The importance of organization. It has been pointed 
out in the preceding chapters that the silent-reading 
period should be used to develop speed and thought- 
getting^ if pupils are to learn how to study effectively. 
The superior student is one who has acquired a third 
important skill, namely, the ability quickly and effec- 
tively to organize the subject-matter read. The term 
organization, as here used, includes making outlines 
and summaries and having pupils prepare lists of 
questions which they consider leading ones. 

The importance of developing the ability of pupils 
to organize can scarcely be overemphasized. McMur- 
ry's Hoiv to Biiidy devotes forty-nine pages to the 
discussion of organization. Psychologists have done 
much, valuable research in the field of the higher men- 
tal processes. The results of their investigations include 
the establishment of many basic principles in the science 
and art of organization. 

The psychological point of view. From a psycho- 
logical point of view, training in the organization of 
subject-matter is urged because it requires the pupil 
to analyze, select, and synthesize. It requires much 

68 



ORGANIZATION 69 

concentration, judgment, evaluation, and association and 
is considered one good test of general intelligence. 
Organization is a great aid to memory or retention. 
To the degree that a lesson or discussion is well 
organized, to that degree each minor point is seen in 
its proper relation to the major idea, and each major 
thought in its relation to the whole. The love of 
rhythm is said to be instinctive, and for that reason 
applied psj^chology urges the organization of a lecture 
or lesson in the most logical manner so that the pre- 
ferred paths may function. 

The sociological point of view. Nor is the ability 
to organize of secondary importance when considered 
from the sociological point of view. How many men 
and women are failing in their several vocations every 
day, not so much because of some defect in person- 
ality, but because organization is sadly lacking in every 
proposition which they set forth ^ The fundamental 
principle in public speaking is organization. Because 
organization is of great consequence in life, both in 
and out of school, one feels justified in testing pupils 
to see how much organizing ability they have, and 
how that ability may be developed. 

Present lack of ability to organize. The inability 
of many grade pupils to organize the main points of 
a lesson under headings and subheadings is very notice- 
able in many schools. Teachers do not seem to realize 
that training pupils and developing in them an appre- 
ciation of the worth of orc^anization is one effective 



70 SILENT READING 

method of building up good study habits. Too often 
pupils are not made to feel that they are expected 
to organize, weigh, and discriminate in their reading. 
The usual assignment, ''Take the next four pages of 
the chapter," does not even suggest the possibility that 
many of the statements may be of minor importance 
and a few of major importance. Making a problem 
assignment stimulates the child to see for himself what 
sentences in the lesson are most worth while. 

Some teachers make a specific assignment of three 
or four questions. These questions act as guides to the 
pupil's reading; they form the topics for discussion 
in the next recitation period. Pupils thus learn to 
discriminate between points having little or much bear- 
ing on the question before them. After a few weeks 
of such training, summaries can be made at the close 
of a recitation period. The teacher and pupils to- 
gether sum up the main points in the lesson that were 
brought out or that should be discussed. Having one 
section of a class prepare the questions for another 
section to evaluate is an effective device. Organization 
can best be taught in connection with some class prob- 
lem or project in which each pupil gathers a definite 
amount of data and sifts much reading material for 
points bearing specifically on his phase of the problem. 

Although this chapter makes the point that the 
ability to discriminate and to organize the material 
read is of prime importance, we have reserved the 
discussion of teaching lesson organization until later. 



ORGANIZATION 71 

Often, neither assignment nor recitation period is util- 
ized to help the pupil acquire this important skill. 

Germane 's experiment.^ Data obtained by means of 
two quite elaborate experiments seem to prove con- 
clusively that grade pupils deplorably lack the ability 
to organize what they read. One of these was con- 
ducted in grades five to nine, inclusive, of the elemen- 
tary and junior-high schools of the State University 
of Iowa, with this problem in mind: What is the 
value of making a summary-outline of an article as 
compared with the results to be obtained by re-reading, 
the article. The pupils in the grades mentioned were 
divided into two groups on the basis of their intelli- 
gence quotients. Each section was given a nine-page 
article on hygiene to study for thirty minutes. One 
section was asked to read the article through once, 
then to make a summary-outline of the main points. 
The pupils were allowed to refer to the article as often 
as necessary when making their outlines. The other 
section was asked to re-read the article as many times 
as possible during the thirty-minute period. At the 
conclusion of the period both sections were given the 
same quiz for fifteen minutes. 

Because this experiment was conducted in only one 
school and with only one kind of subject-matter, too 
much emphasis should not be placed on the results. 
It is interesting to note that the group which re-read 

^Germane, Charles E. "The value of summarizing' as a method 
of study." (An unpublished doctor's dissertation offered to the 
State University of Iowa in 1920.) 



72 SILENT READING 

the article showed a superiority of from 4.4 per cent 
to 20.4 per cent over the other pnpils. Papers of the 
pupils who wrote summary-outlines revealed a failure 
to discriminate between points of major and minor 
importance, and a waste of time in writing verbose 
statements where a word or phrase would have sufficed. 

Another experiment in which practically the same 
method was used gave similar results. During this 
experiment 784 pupils were tested on three types of 
material. The data obtained by this experiment also 
indicate that making written summary-outlines as a 
preparation for the lesson is not an economical method 
of study for pupils who have not been trained in 
organization. However, as shown by reliable data 
reported elsewhere in this chapter, organization can be 
taught even to fourth-grade pupils; when that is done 
summarizing becomes a valuable aid to study after the 
child acquires the method. 

Finch's experiment/ This was conducted in a 
junior high school in Rochester, New York. It orig- 
inated in an attempt to aid the pupils in making "the 
most effective use of the time for study provided by 
the longer periods and the lengthened school day." 
Four tests were given, each based on a regular text- 
book, thus providing for future tests of similar char- 
acter by means of which the progress of each pupil may 
be traced. The reasons for giving these tests to pupils 
entering the junior high school were (a) to make them 

^Finch, Charles E. "Junior hig-h-school study tests." School 
Review, Vol. 28, (March) 1920. 



ORGANIZATION 73 

aware of certain tilings that they onght to know about 
studying, (Z>) to create a desire for instruction in the' 
best way of studying, (c) to suggest to teachers the 
needs of the class and of individuals as a basis for 
possible and desirable kinds of instruction. Because 
only one of the four tests dealt specifically with the 
problem of organization, only that part of the experi- 
ment is reported here. 

The fourth test was planned to bring out the fol- 
lowing points: (a) Ability to select the important 
things told in a paragraph; (&) ability to write intelli- 
gent questions about a paragraph; (c) ability to collect 
the information suggested by a simple outline. In 
order to show the nature of the test and the method 
of using it, the following specimen is taken verbatim 
from the material used for the experiment. 

Textbook used: Woodburn and Moran's Introduction 
to American History. 

Directions 
I. Open your book and follow the directions given. 
II. 1. State in your own words three important 
things told in the paragraph on the Phoeni- 
cians, found on page 11. 3 credits 

2. Write three questions that you would ask a 
pupil if you wanted to find out whether he 
knew the important facts in the first para- 
graph on the Egyptians, on page 4. 3 credits 

3. On pages 8 and 9 find the information called 
for in the following outline, and state it in 
your own words: 



74 SILENT READING 

Chaldeans 

a) Location of their eo-nntry 1 credit 

h) Occupations of the people 1 credit 

c) The ruler and his gardens 1 credit 

d) Some things the Chaldeans did 1 credit 

The following summary gives an idea of how the 
ability to follow these simple directions for organizing 
varied among seventh-grade pupils. It is evident that 
the pupils were lacking in the ability to discriminate 
between points of major and minor importance, and 
to make a summary-outline of them. Eight classes 
which included 256 pupils took part in the experi- 
ment. The average score of lowest achievement for 
any one class was 20 per cent. The average score of 
highest achievement for any one class was 80 per cent. 
The average score made by the eight classes was 60 
per cent. Following an examination of the papers and 
a study of the results obtained, the experimenter 
reached the following conclusions : Pupils must be con- 
vinced that getting the author's meaning from a printed 
page is quite different from repeating expressions found 
there. They must be taught to eliminate material of 
minor importance from their consideration, and to 
give important matter proper attention. The ability 
to formulate intelligent questions is an indication that 
the student has some knowledge of the related and 
essential facts in the material under consideration. 
Making a simple outline after having discovered the 
essential facts is a great help in memorizing desirable 



ORGANIZATION 75 

information. Much valuable time can be saved if 
pupils have an adequate knowledge of how to use 
textbooks. Keal progress is the result of wisely directed 
individual effort. Pupils must be convinced that it 
pays to give careful attention to all directions given 
by the teacher. Teachers should help pupils realize 
that studying effectively is quite different from study- 
ing anxiously. It is easy to think through a lesson 
if a carefully prepared outline is followed. Making 
satisfactory notes helps to summarize, to select essen- 
tial material, and to gain the ability to reproduce it. 
After the results of the tests had been carefully 
studied by the teachers, they suggested the following 
remedial measures which have proved effective in rais- 
ing the efficiency of the study habits of these pupils: 
(1) Pupils' questions should be discussed by the class 
and those of minor importance rejected. (2) Drill 
should be given in the use of chapter, section, and 
paragraph headings. (3) Frequent use should be made 
of co-operative outlines to enable pupils to summarize 
their thoughts and select important facts. (4) Pupils 
should be given definite references to paragraphs and 
sections that they are asked to read, and they should 
be asked to list the important facts that furnished the 
desired information. (5) Much more attention should 
be given to determining whether or not pupils under- 
stand adult expressions used in textbooks. (6) Pupils 
should be required to prove their statements by refer- 
ence to the textbook. This helps secure accuracy of 



76 SILENT READING 

statement, and forces children to acknowledge their 
mistakes when made. (7) Practice should be given in 
using the textbook to find definite information sug- 
gested by a carefullj^ prepared outline. 

One teacher indicates that the tests helped her to 
remember that the assignment should serve to state 
the requirements of the new lesson, and to suggest 
the best ways of studying it. They also help her to 
keep in mind points that ought to be emphasized in 
silent study, to modify the content of lesson plans, to 
supervise silent study more successfully because of 
having more clearly in mind some of the things that 
ought to be observed while a class is studying, and to 
analyze the oral responses of the pupils more effectively 
because they seem to reflect study habits. 

College students cannot org^anize their lessons. A 
cursory examination of high-school and college stu- 
dents ' notebooks reveals the lack of ability to organize 
a lesson to an extent commensurate with one's expec- 
tations. 

The authors have conducted classes in education and 
psj^chology in which they required many individual 
reports. Each student was told that he should sum- 
marize his assignment under two or three leading 
headings. Often, however, much to the disappoint- 
ment of all, the student used most of the next recita- 
tion period to give a long report, in which he em- 
phasized a dozen or more main points, as he thought. 
Such experiences are not uncommon, even in the best 



ORGANIZATION 77 

colleges. The most encouraging; feature of the whole 
matter is that the power to organize can be taught; 
it is largely a product of training. It is surprising 
what large dividends will accrue from spending a few 
minutes daily for a few weeks helping pupils to 
organize their lessons. Many teachers who have gone 
into schools of good scholastic standards have felt that 
the emphasis on organization for the first three or 
four weeks was time well s^ent, because the pupils 
rapidly acquire the method, and the acquirement of 
the method helps to master the lesson. 

Teaching how to organize. That organization can 
be taught c[uickly, and that such teaching aaqU yield 
fruitful results, is shown by an experiment conducted 
in the elementary school of the State University of 
Iowa in which sixteen seventh and eighth-grade pupils 
participated. By means of three preliminary tests 
the sixteen pupils were divided into two groups nearly 
equal in ability to organize the reading lesson and to 
comprehend it. Three thirty-minute periods were used 
weekly for three weeks to teach one group organiza- 
tion and the method of summarizing. The other group 
did not receive such special training. At the end of 
that time three new assignments were used to test the 
pupils' ability to organize and comprehend. It was 
found that the pupils who had been drilled in organi- 
zation not only made much neater and more condensed 
summaries, but also answered an average of 21.3 
per cent more questions on the written tests. Organi- 



78 SILENT READING 

zation is a third necessary skill, which, combined with 
speed and comprehension, aids in making the finished 
product in study. 

Earhart's experiment.^ The problem of this experi- 
ment was to find out if pupils in the fourth grade, i. e., 
in the fourth school year, can be trained to study a 
lesson independently. The class selected consisted of 
twenty pupils of average ability. Sixteen lessons were 
given, each lasting from twenty-five to thirty minutes. 
There was no separate period for the study of the 
lesson. The problem raised the following questions: 
Can pupils state aims for themselves in reading? Can 
they find the relatively important parts of the subject- 
matter read? Can they question the validity of state- 
ments and form independent judgments? 

For three weeks previous to this experiment the 
class had been reading Lida B. McMurry's Story oj 
Vlysses. The use of the text was continued during 
this experiment because it seemed suitable for the 
purpose in mind. The first lesson was based on the 
story of Ulysses and the Phseacians. After some pre- 
liminary conversation about the needs of Ulysses and 
the experiences he had previously had among strange 
peoples, the teacher stated the aim thus: ''We shall 
find out in this book how the Ph^acians treated 
Ulysses. ' ' The children read silently for a few min- 
utes. They used a marked list of words in their books 
to determine the correct pronunciation of proper names. 

^Earhart, Lida B. "An experiment in teaching children to 
study." Education. Vol. 30 (pp. 236-42). 1909-10. 



ORGANIZATION 79 

Other proper names, and words which the pupils could 
not pronounce without assistance, were written on the 
blackboard and divided into syllables by the teacher. 

The teacher then asked the children which part of 
the story they would tell first, if they were asked to 
relate it. Several pupils attempted to answer but could 
not do so satisfactorily. One child said, "Ulysses 
made a bed of leaves." Another suggested as the topic 
to be told first, "What Ulysses did in the Phseacian 
land." 

In response to the teacher's query as to what should 
be told next, some pupils tried to tell the story in- 
stead of giving a topic. Finally, one child gave for 
the second point, "Ulysses awakes." The fourth topic 
suggested was, "What the king's daughter did for 
Ulysses. ' ' 

The pupils then read the selection aloud. At inter- 
vals they were allowed to ask questions about the 
story. These are the questions asked: "Why did 
Nausicaa take her maids to wash clothes?" "Why did 
she not go alone?" "Why did the king's daughter 
go at all?" "Why did the maidens walk?" "There 
was no room for the maidens, but why did Nausicaa 
work and drive mules?" 

The spontaneity of the responses to the questions in 
the first lesson indicated clearly that the pupils were 
intensely interested in the subject-matter, but were 
unable to organize the other parts of the lesson in 
sequence. It was evident that training in evaluating 



go SILENT READING 

and organizing were necessary. The following lessons 
emphasized this factor. 

After the pupils had read the eight-page booklet, 
entitled Penelope and Telemachus During Ulysses' 
Absence, they were asked to name, in order, the things 
they would talk about if they were telling the story 
to some one at home. They gave the following outline 
very promptly: 

The princes wish to marry Penelope. 

Penelope deceives the princes. 

Telemachus holds a council. 

Telemachus goes to inquire about Ulysses. 

Telemachus visits Nestor. 

Telemachus visits Menelaus. ^ 

The suitors make ready to kill Telemachus. 

Penelope hears of Telemachus' absence. 

This exercise occurred toward the close of the series 
of lessons. Both the nature of the topics and the 
readiness with which they were given were evidence 
of the pupils' gain in ability to discover and express 
the important thoughts of the subject-matter. It will 
be recalled that when the first lesson was given, the 
teacher stated the aim for the class. 

When the last booklet of the story was taken up 
there was time for but one lesson with the class, so 
the lesson had to be somewhat hurried. The pupils 
had already stated the questions to be answered, and 
these constituted the aims in' reading this section. 
They w^ere told to read the entire eight-page booklet 



ORGANIZATION gl 

silently, tlien to make a list of important subjects in 
it, to write any questions which they wanted answered, 
and any w^ords in place of which they would like to 
have other words used. These papers were written 
by the pupils with no help whatever, except in regard 
to spelling, the use of capital letters, and punctuation. 
The following exercise, given just as it was prepared, 
shows the progress made from the time the first lesson 
was taught: 

Ulysses awakes. 

Ulysses and the swineherd. 

Ulysses meets Telemachus again. 

Penelope and Telemachus. 

Penelope and the beggar. 

The nurse recognizes Ulysses. 

Penelope gives a contest. 

Ulj^sses tries the bow. 

The death of the suitors. 

Ulysses rules over Ithaca again. 

Why did Ulysses go to the swineherd? 

Why did Ulysses beg for his bread? 

Why didn't Ulysses tell Penelope that he was her 

husband? 
Why did Telemachus go to the house of Laertes? 

This series of lessons showed plainly that pupils in 
the fourth grade are capable of finding problems for 
themselves, of organizing the lesson, of asking intelli- 
gent questions, of forming sensible hypotheses, of ex- 
ercising judgment as to the statements made by the 
author, of mastering formal difficulties for themselves, 



S2 SILENT READING 

and of exercising initiative wisely and profitably. It 
showed, too, that when pupils work in such a way 
they work with zeal, and accomplish much more than 
when they spend time upon useless details and mechan- 
ical methods of working. 

As to their using the factors of proper study habit- 
ually, the time was too short to permit one to reach 
final conclusions. To test the matter thoroughly, the 
class should be trained to study geography, history, and 
other textbook lessons in this way from day to day 
throughout a number of months. By so doing, syste- 
matic study of the different subjects would be intro- 
duced gradually, and the work in each class would 
be strengthened by what is done in the others. 

Teaching pupils to organize. In the third and 
fourth grades, stories and short expositions may be 
used as drill in making outlines. Pupils in those 
grades enjoy being called upon to state the main 
points made by the teacher in her talk on some phase 
of nature study, hygiene, or home geography. In 
fact, class summaries made with the teacher's guid- 
ance are economical ways to clinch the main points 
made during recitation periods. 

By the time the pupils are well advanced in the 
fifth and sixth grades they should show considerable 
skill in outlining and summarizing lessons in nearly 
all their studies. The authors have often promoted a 
keen interest in the organization of lessons by dividing 
the class into two sections and having one section pre- 



ORGANIZATION 83 

pare a summary-outline for the other to criticize. 
Pupils at this age enjoy thinking of any lesson or 
lecture as having just one central idea, comparable to 
the hub of a wheel, and considering all the points 
grouped under this central idea as so many spokes 
in the wheel. This clever device has been used suc- 
cessfully in high-school classes, in which the teacher 
of English, history or science requested the students 
to state what they considered the hub and spokes of 
the assignment. A diagram on the blackboard lends 
interest to such a plan. 

Having the pupils use the last five minutes of a 
recitation period to sum up the main points brought 
out in the recitation is another very valuable practice. 
Notes taken in this way for a few weeks, known as a 
class summary, greatly aid the majority of pupils. 
Calling for an oral summary of the previous day's 
assignment is another means of teaching organization 
and providing a comprehensive review for all. 

The preparation of summaries. One of the funda- 
mental aims of teachers in charge of seventh and eighth 
grades, and even of high-school classes, should be to 
train pupils in making outlines and in writing concise 
summaries of lessons and lectures. A knowledge of 
many facts without the ability to classify, organize, 
and use them makes such knowledge practically worth- 
less. The school work of the pupils in the upper 
grades is so varied and so informational that no 
teacher should find it difficult to formulate a method 



84 SILENT READING 

for teaching organization and summarizing, or to create 
a favorable attitude toward such work among her 
pupils. Some of the devices described in Chapter XIV 
for use with pupils in the fifth and sixth grades may 
be used very successfully in the higher grades. 

Another very interesting method is to take a part 
of each class period for finding what may be called 
the ''signpost paragraph," that is, the paragraph 
which states the problem or trend of discussion which 
the author has in mind. Pupils soon learn how to 
find the signpost or key to the lesson. The next point 
of interest is to discover a way to determine most 
quickly the author's conclusions and his answers to 
the problem discussed. Students will soon learn that 
reading the first sentence or two of a paragraph, 
possibly also the last one, is sufficient. It is not within 
the province of this chapter to elaborate on methods 
of teaching organization, since that will be done by 
presenting specimen lessons in Part II. The aim here 
is only to point out the possibility of teaching organi- 
zation. 

SUMMARY 

1. The importance of organization and summarizing, the 
third essential factor in teaching silent reading, has not 
received sufficient consideration by teachers. 

2. This valuable skill is lacking among college students 
and grade pupils. 

3. The results of the experiments show that the prepara- 
tion of a lesson by means of a summary-outline is not 
economical unless the pupil has been trained to organize. 



ORGANIZATION 85 

4. Several devices useful for teaching pupils to organize 
lesson material have been suggested. The authors have 
found those very useful in actual trial. 

5. The results of a study made on sixteen pupils in the 
experimental school of the State University of Iowa and 
of studies made by Earhart and by Finch suggest that 
one can effectively teach pupils to organize their lessons. 

SUGGESTED READINGS 

Dearborn, G. V. N. Hoio to Learn Easily: A Book for 
Students, Teachers and Parents. Little, Brown and Com- 
pany, Boston, 1916. 

Dewey, John. How We Think, D. C. Heath and Company, 
Boston, 1910. 

Earhart, Lida B. Teaching Children to Study. Houghton 
Mifflin Company, Boston, 1909. 

Foster, William T. Should Students Study? Harper and 
Brothers, New York City, 1917. 

Hall-Quest, A. L, Supervised Study. The Macmillan Com- 
pany, New York City, 1920. 

Holley, Charles E. The Teacher's Technique. The Century 
Company, New York City, 1922. 

Huey, Edmund B. The Psychology and Pedagogy of Read- 
ing. The Macmillan Company, 1916. 

Klapper, Paul. Teaching Children to Read. D. Appleton 
and Company, New York City, 1914. 

McMurry, Frank M. How to Study and Teaching How to 
Study. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1909. 

Parker, S. C. Methods of Teaching in High Schools. Ginn 
and Company, Chicago, 1915. 

Ruediger, W. C. "Teaching pupils to study." Education, 
Vol. 29, 1909. 

Sandwick, R. L. How to Study and What to Study. D. C. 
Heath and Company, Boston, 1915. 

Whipple, G. M. How to Study Effectively. Public School 
Publishing Company, Bloomington, Illinois, 1916. 



CHAPTER V 
RETENTION 

The importance of retention. The value of speed, 
comprehension, and organization as fundamental fac- 
tors of a method of study has been treated in the three 
previous chapters. There is still another factor, namely, 
retention, which is of equal importance. In fact, it 
is the ability to retain and recall the main points of 
the material read which makes the acquisition and 
application of knowledge possible. Time and effort 
spent in developing skill in rapid reading and in 
organization are wasted unless the essential ideas are 
retained. 

Experimental studies in retention. Ebbinghaus has 
done much experimenting to determine the ability to 
retain nonsense syllables, and his rate of forgetting 
for this type of material has been many times verified. 
He found that when a series of those syllables, such 
as ^'taz," *^nmt," and others were learned to the 
threshold of immediate recall, 50 per cent were for- 
gotten within twenty-four hours, 66% per cent within 
eight days, and 80 per cent within one month. But 
the application of this law to logical, factual mate- 
rial is unscientific, because nonsense material does not 

86 



RETENTION 87 

lend itself readily to the laws of interest and associa- 
tion. 

Peterson's experiment.^ This attempt to determine 
the effect of attitude on immediate and delayed recall 
is significant in any discussion of retention. In brief, 
the problem was, "What difference will it make in 
later reproduction whether a person knows or does 
not know, while reading a list of words, that he will 
be asked to reproduce the words.'' 

Peterson's method of conducting this experiment was 
in the main as follows : The students in his psychology 
class were asked to copy twenty words as he read 
them. No other directions were given. After a few 
minutes those students were asked to copy another 
list of twenty words, equally as difficult as the previous 
list. This time the class was informed that each would 
be ranked according to the number of words he was 
able to recall. 

The result of the experiment showed that in the 
second case the students recalled an average of 50 
per cent more words than in the first. Peterson attri- 
butes this gain to the '^mental set" of his students 
who knew they would be called upon to remember 
as many words as possible. 

Ebert and Meumann also found that the attitude 
of the learner, his "will to learn," exercises an im- 
portant influence over his whole memory result. 

iPeterson, Joseph. "The effect of attitude on immediate and 
delayed reproduction: A class experiment." Journal of Edu- 
cational Psychology, Vol. 7, (October) 1916. 



88 SILENT READING 

These studies reveal one outstanding pedagogical 
principle which every teacher should apply : The 
pupil reads most effectively when he realizes that he 
is expected to recall the main points of the material 
read. This necessitates testing on the assignments 
by means of either short, brisk, oral reviews or written 
quizzes. If the subject-matter read is of sufficient 
importance to be studied, the recall of its fundamental 
facts should be assured. 

Yoakam's experiment. Probably the most elaborate 
recent experiment that can be cited in this discussion 
* of retention is Yoakam's stud}^, "The Effect of a 
Single Reading."^ Yoakam has attempted to deter- 
mine scientifically the relative values of certain fac- 
tors of study on recall or memory. This experiment 
was conducted in grades four to eight inclusive, and 
represents the results of more than 500 cases. 

Reading tests were used to classify the pupils of 
each grade into groups of equal comprehension ability 
in silent reading. One group read the assignment 
through once rapidly, but very carefully, and then 
w^as immediately subjected to a test on the content. 
The other group read the same article through once, 
rapidly and very carefully, but no test was given 
until twenty days later, when this group took the 
test that had been taken by the other section. Neither 

iToakam, Gerald A. "The effect of a single reading-." (An 
excerpt from an unpublished doctor's dissertation offered to the 
State University of Iowa in 1920.) Tiventieth Yearbook of the 
National Society for the Study of Education: Part II. Public 
School Publishing Company, Bloomington. Illinois. 1921. 



RETENTION 89 

group knew that a test would be given. The scores 
made by these two groups ought to be an approximate 
measure, at least, of the value of a single reading on 
an immediate recall, and on a recall delayed twenty 
days. 

Immediate recall. The amount the several grades 
were able to recall immediately, after the single read- 
ing of an article entitled '*The Admiralty Islanders," 
is as follows: 

Grade VIII VII VI V IV 

20.9% 19% 16.6% 14.6% 7.5% 

If these figures are to be accepted at their face 
value, then at least two conclusions may be drawn: 
(1) A single reading is not sufficient preparation for 
a lesson. (2) Pupils lack the ability to recall any 
considerable portion of the material read. It is the 
opinion of the authors, however, that a single reading 
would suffice if pupils were trained in methods and 
devices which insure retention. 

Delayed recall. One should keep in mind that the 
other group of pupils also read the article ''The Ad- 
miralty Islanders" through once, but that the children 
were not tested until twenty days later. It was thought 
that this procedure would give an approximate measure 
of the amount of an assignment that pupils usually 
remember when it has been read once, and on which 
no oral or written test has been given. The follow- 
ing is a summary of the scores made by pupils of the 
five grades after a lapse of twenty days: 



90 SILENT READING 

Grade VIII VII VI V IV 

1.3% 0.7% 2.7% 3.8% 5.1% 

Just why the pupils of the fourth, fifth, and sixth 
grades were able to recall more than those of the 
seventh and eighth grades is a matter of conjecture. 
It has been suggested that the material had a com- 
pelling interest for pupils of the lower grades which 
it did not have for those of the seventh and eighth 
grades. 

One thing, at least, is certain: The ability of the 
pupils in these grades to recall and to remember any 
considerable portion of the material read is deplor- 
ably small. This inability to study a lesson with an 
attitude and method that insures remembering the 
main points may account to some extent for the poor 
showing made by pupils on almost any unexpected 
quiz or test to which they are subjected. Since it is 
possible to develop skill in retention, teachers are 
urged to emphasize this fourth factor not only in 
the silent-reading periods, but in all classroom work. 

Testing before reading". Professor Yoakam also at- 
tempted to determine the effect on immediate recall 
if pupils are tested on a lesson before they read it. 
In this same experiment a third group of children was 
given a written quiz on the lesson before reading it. 
Then the assignment was read through once carefully, 
and again they were subjected to the same questions. 
The scores made by this group on the second test 
were much higher than the scores made by the other 



RETENTION 91 

two groups of pupils who liad read the same article 
and taken the same test. Hence, one is justified in 
believing that some important factor operated to cause 
the difference. Yoakam's conclusion is that the pupils 
of the third group, who took the test before reading, 
were motivated in their reading; that is, they read 
purposefully and with the idea of finding the answers 
to the questions submitted to them in the initial test. 
That such an inference is entirely justifiable is ap- 
parent when we observe that the grades in this group 
excelled each of the grades in the other two groups 
by the following scores : 

Grade VIII VII VI V IV 

14.6% 13.6% 9.5% 5.8% 4.7% 

The above scores represent the amounts by which 
the pupils in the third group excelled the pupils in 
the other two groups when all were asked to take a 
test after a single reading. For example, the eighth- 
grade pupils in the third group were tested before 
reading the article and also immediately afterwards. 
After subtracting whatever knowledge they showed on 
the first test, it was found that the third group ex- 
celled by 14.6 per cent. This difference in the amount 
recalled was probably due to the fact that the third 
group concentrated on the questions missed in the first 
test. The following outstanding suggestions derived 
from Yoakam^s experiment may be applied to school- 
room procedure with the best results. Teachers 
should make use of them. 



92 SILENT READING 

1. Give pupils a test before they read the lesson. 
That makes them read purposefully and with 
concentration and discrimination. 

2. An initial test tends to increase their retention, 
as shown by both Yoakam's and Peterson's ex- 
periment. 

3. After pupils read the lesson over once carefully, 
give them the initial test a second time. Pupils 
can then see how much they gain from a single 

reading. This is pupil-motivation. They will be 

interested in seeing themselves grow from week 

to week. Many teachers who are now using the 

initial test as a means of stimulating purposeful 

reading believe it increases the amount recalled. 

The combined effects of giving tests before reading 

and immediately after reading, and the value of a 

single reading upon the amount recalled in tv/enty 

days, were tentatively worked out by Professor Yoakam. 

His comments are: 

The use of the above figures in this way is at the 
most rather speculative, but the general significance of 
the results was that the effect of a single reading as 
a means of insuring delayed recall of the type of mate- 
rial here represented, is apparently almost negligible. 
The motivations caused by the initial test and the effect 
of the repetition of the tests apparently far outweigh 
in importance the single brief contact with the material 
as a means of insuring retention of the ideas. Or, to 
put it more clearly, if the motivation caused by the 
testing and practice due to the repetition of the test 
had not taken place, the result of the single reading. 



RETENTION 93 

as shown by the scores of the third group, womld prob- 
ably have been very, very small. 

We may draw four conclusions from Yoakam's 
study: (1) The amount of material retained after 
one reading without testing or motivation is almost 
nothing. (2) Submitting the test questions before 
reading motivates the reader by helping him focus 
his attention on the main points; it is also a power- 
ful aid to permanent retention. (3) Giving a test 
immediately after reading the material is another 
equally potent factor in aiding retention. (4) Fre- 
quent tests are absolutely necessary if retention of 
even the most important facts of school work is to 
be secured. The small amount of material retained 
by pupils in the grades may thus be explained, if the 
figures and conclusions of Yoakam's study are ac- 
cepted. In conclusion we may say that daily, weekly, 
and monthly testing on all assignments is the surest 
guarantee that a high degree of comprehension and 
retention will be secured. 

Crermane's experiment. Further to substantiate the 
data given in Yoakam's table, another experiment was 
conducted by four other teachers in another city school 
system. Four hundred pupils in the sixth, seventh, 
and eighth grades took part in this experiment. Two 
different types of reading material were used, a nine- 
page article on '* Peanuts'* and another on *^ Immi- 
gration." The pupils were asked to read each article 
through carefully as often as they could in thirty 



94 SILENT READING 

minutes. They were then subjected to a fifteen-minute 
test on the material they had read. Fifty-eight days 
later a recall test, based on the set of questions used 
in the immediate-recall test, was given. A summary 
of the results is presented in the table below. 

Test Based on the Article "Peanuts" 
(Possible score 58 points.) 



Grade 
VI 


Average 

Times Read 

3 


Immediate 
Recall 
30.1% 


Recall After 

58 DATS 

9.8% 


VII 


3.5 


34.6% 


12.7% 


VIII 


4 


45.1% 


21.3% 



The table is read thus: Pupils in the sixth grade 
read the article on "Peanuts" an average of three 
times, answered 30.1 per cent of the questions on 
immediate testing and 9.8 per cent of the questions 
fifty-eight days later. 

Test Based on the Article "Immigration" 
(Possible score 65 points.) 



Grade 
VI 


aveirage 

Times Read 

3 


Immediate 
Recall 
18.5% 


Delated 
Recall After 

58 DATS 

4.9% 


VII 


3.5 


23.1% 


7.8% 


VIII 


4 


41.2% 


16.7% 



The table is read thus : Pupils in the fourth grade 
read the article on ''Immigration" an average of three 
times, answered 18.5 per cent of the questions on 
immediate testing, and 4.9 per cent of the questions 
fifty-eight days later. 

The reader's attention is called to the following 



RETENTION 95 

facts relative to the above study: (1) The two arti- 
cles read were well adapted to the grades in which 
they were used. (2) The pupils read for thirty min- 
utes with greater zest than they probably would have 
had under normal conditions, because they knew a 
test would be given. (3) The fifteen-minute written 
test was a severe one which held all to their tasks. 
Forty-five minutes was spent on each article. In 
view of these facts the scores show that the amount 
retained after a lapse of fifty-eight days varied from 
4.9 per cent to 16.7 per cent of the total possible 
score. 

Bird's experiment.^ One hundred normal-school 
students in educational psychology were asked to read 
a chapter entitled ''The Nervous System as the Organ 
of Behavior." Although the assignment contained 
many facts of psychology and physiology with which 
these students had little if any acquaintance, no ex- 
planation or directions were given concerning the 
material set for study. The students were told merely 
to study the assigned lesson in preparation for a 
written test. 

The following semester the same lesson was assigned 
to another group of a hundred students having the 
same general ability and preparation. This time the 
assignment was preceded by careful explanations of 
all different parts of the chapter; the explanations 
were supplemented by demonstrations with the model 

^Bird, Grace E. "An experiment in 'focalization.' " School arid 
Society, Vol. 8, (November) 1918. 



9G SILENT READING 

of a brain and a preserved human brain. The super- 
vised study period of half an hour was designed to 
arouse interest in the topic. At the next recitation 
period the students were given a test similar to that 
previously used for the first group. It consisted of 
twenty questions each of which could be answered in 
a few words. The correctness of the answer depended 
on the student's knowledge of facts, rather than upon 
his ability to apply and use those facts. Two ques-' 
tions were : ' ' The point of contact between neurones 

is called a . " The name of neurones which 

convey stimulation to the muscles is . " 

It is scarcely necessary to remark that the general 
results of the second test were of a higher grade than 
those of the first one. The measured differences show 
that the half hour of preparation focalized and moti- 
vated the w^ork to the extent of raising the average 
grade from 54.15 per cent to 74.1 per cent, and the 
median grade from 51.1 per cent to 73.95 per cent. 
The range of the extremes resulting from the un- 
focalized assignment was 5 to 90, of the other from 
49 to 100. The absurdity of the assignment made to 
the first hundred students is obvious. Nevertheless, 
that type of assignment is still used in many class- 
rooms. 

The results of this experiment indicate the import- 
ance of a careful specific assignment as an aid to 
retention, the possibility of catching the attention and 
arousing genuine interest in a lesson by carefully ex- 



RETENTION 97 

plaining its difficult parts, the probability of increasing 
the achievements of the students in the quantity and 
quality of work accomplished, and the advantage of 
minimizing the initiation of incorrect habits and ob- 
viating the waste of unlearning them. 

How to increase retentioii. The following methods 
and devices may be used to develop skill in immediate 
recall, as well as permanency of retention. (1) Let 
the pupils know that they are to be tested on the 
material read. Do not fail to test them. (2) Give 
a test over the assignment before reading. As has been 
shown, that greatly increases the amount immediately 
recalled and permanently retained. (3) Give a second 
test after the pupils have taken the preliminary test and 
read the lesson through once. That appeals to most 
pupils since it gives them an opportunity to see the 
gain made in a single reading. (4) Have short, brisk, 
daily reviews of the outstanding features of the pre- 
vious day's discussion or lesson. (5) Provide weekly 
and monthly reviews of the work covered. (6) Have 
pupils prepare a list of questions, the answers to which 
cover the main points in the work of the week or the 
month. (7) Let the test consist chiefly of these ques- 
tions. Have the papers graded in class by pupils and 
teacher, who are also to decide what constitutes a 
complete answer. (8) See that the papers are at once 
returned to the pupils, thus giving each a chance to 
review his own and to protest if he thinks it has been 
improperly valued. 



98 SILENT READING 

Tests conducted according to the suggestions offered 
insure four reviews of the main points: {a) When 
the pupils prepare the test; (h) when they write it; 
(c) when each corrects another's paper; (d) when 
each looks over his own paper for possible errors in 
valuing. Outlining and summarizing also help one to 
retain. To remember well one must establish logical 
associations. Hence, organization of the main points 
in a lesson under the proper headings and subheadings 
is a powerful aid to logical association. Organization 
also appeals to one's innate love of rhythm. Thorn- 
dike urges the importance of interest, attention, and 
play as dynamic factors affecting ready recall. It is 
surely the common experience of every teacher that 
to the degree to which the pupils attend, are inter- 
ested, and enjoy certain .situations in their school work, 
to that degree do those situations remain fixed and 
tend to recur. It is a basic law of human psychology 
that one responds to situations of interest and pleasure 
more frequently than to their opposites. Thorndike's 
laws of readiness, exercise, and effect, together with 
the more specific law^s of recency, frequency, intensity, 
and duration, should be understood and the principles 
applied, if permanency of recall is to function. The 
importance of focalizing the pupil's attention upon 
the main points in the next assignment should not be 
overlooked. That practice is of particular value in 
classes of immature pupils who cannot readily dis- 
tinguish among major and minor topics. 



RETENTION 99 

SUMMARY 

1. Retention is an important factor of effective study. 

2. Experiments have proven the inability of the average 
pupil to recall immediately any considerable portion of 
what he reads. 

8. Experiments show that of 450 pupils who read an article 
two or more times, not one could answer 50 per cent 
of the questions submitted immediately after the read- 
ing. 

4. The amount which pupils are able to retain after inter- 
vals of twenty and fifty-eight days is almost negligible. 

5. Teachers are urged to use methods and devices which 
help to insure retention. 

6. The teacher of silent reading and of other subjects 
should make adequate provision for daily, weekly, and 
monthly reviews of the minimal essentials. 

SUGGESTED READINGS 
Colvin, Stephen S. An Introduction to High-School Teaching. 

The Macmillan Company, New York City, 1921. 
Dearborn, G. V. N. Hoiv to Learn Easily. Little, Brown 

and Company, Boston, 1916. 
Gray, William S. Studies of Elementary School Reading 

Through Standardized Tests. Supplementary Educational 

Monographs, Vol. 1, No. 1, 1917. University of Chicago 

Press, Chicago. 
Heck, W. H. Mental Discipline and Educational Value. 

The John Lane Company, Boston, 1911. 
Lukens, H. T. Thought and Memory. D. C. Heath and 

Company, Boston, 1896. 
Seashore, Carl E. Psychology in Daily Life, D. Appleton 

and Company, New York City, 1913. 
Thorndike, Edward L. Educational Psychology: Briefer 

Course. (Chapters 6, 10, 11, 16, 17, 19.) Columbia Uni- 
versity Press, New York City, 1914. 
Thorndike, Edward L. Elements of Psychology. (Chapters 

13 to 18.) 2nd ed., A. G. Seller, New York City, 1913. 



CHAPTER VI 

QUESTIONABLE METHODS OF TEACHING 

READING 

A consideration of reading methods. The four pre- 
ceding' chapters were devoted to an intensive discus- 
sion of the larger problems of silent reading, viz., 
speed, comprehension, organization, and retention. In 
each chapter an attempt was made to set forth the im- 
portance of the problem under discussion, in its rela- 
tion to teaching pupils how to study. The results of 
several investigations of methods of study reveal the 
deplorable status of reading common to our schools. 
In view of these facts, this chapter deals with two 
problems: (1) Some reading methods and their out- 
standing defects. (2) Some suggested remedies. Since 
the most effective time to discuss a remedy is in con- 
junction with the defect itself, these two themes will 
be treated throughout the chapter in conjunction with 
each other. 

The ABC method. One of the most glaring defects 
in teaching reading is the use of the old ABC method 
still in vogue in many of the backward sections of 
our country. Human ingenuity could scarcely have 
devised a scheme more unnatural and bewildering to 

100 



QUESTIONABLE METHODS OF TEACHING IQI 

the child. Reading is at best an artificial process which 
involves the use of symbols. The child comes to school 
thinking in terms of thought units; therefore, the 
psychological and natural approach is by means of 
the sentence method, or possibly through a modification 
of the word method. 

The first five or six years of the child's life have 
been crowded full of experience of all kinds. Thou- 
sands of questions and the memory of thousands of 
experiences are in his mind waiting to be expressed. 
And yet, since the days of the Greeks, we have im- 
posed upon the immature minds of children twenty- 
six letters usually presented in three forms. The con- 
fusion arising in the mind of an eighth-grade pupil if 
a complex formula in trigonometry were presented, 
could scarcely equal the mental disturbance caused 
children by beginning reading with the ABC method. 

Defects of the ABO method. But aside from this 
evil, the most outstanding objection to the ABC 
method is that it retards the development of speed 
and comprehension in reading. The movements of the 
eye in reading a line are interrupted by a succession 
of distinct pauses or fixations. Speed in reading con- 
sists in forming motor habits with few pauses or 
fixation-points to the line, and with a minimum time 
at each fixation period. 

Pupils whose first years in school are spent in fix- 
ing their attention daily upon a letter or syllable, form 
habits of narrow eye-span, that is, small perception- 



102 SILENT READING 

units. It is believed by many that the concentration 
of attention in noting the peculiarities of certain let- 
ters, or the phonetic group to which syllables belong, 
forms a motor habit of taking in narrow perception- 
units and making fixations of long duration at each 
pause. In all probability the child never can become 
a fast reader because he has formed these motor habits. 

The reading exercises of the primary grades should 
be such as to enlarge the pupil's perceptual span. Con- 
sequently, phrase-flashing exercises, which necessitate 
the pupil's recognizing a group of words in a very 
short time-exposure should be frequent in order to. 
offset the danger of the pupil's seeing and reading only 
one word at a glance instead of taking in an "eyeful." 

A photographic registration of all slow readers' eye- 
movements would probably show eight or nine fixa- 
tions to the line, instead of only the necessary three 
or four, as well as many regressive movements or re- 
fixations. Moreover, the duration of attention at each 
fixation would be from one-half to three times as 
long as that of a rapid reader. 

Increasing the comprehension of pupils is hindered 
by the use of the ABC method, because in compre- 
hension the attention must be focused on the thought, 
not on the letter or sound. Slow readers do not 
develop a wide attention-span. Their peripheral im- 
pressions are so limited that no general impression of 
the line can come from a single fixation. 

The phonetic method. The phonetic method is open 



QUESTIONABLE METHODS OF TEACHING 103 

to the same criticism as the ABC method, although 
its evil effects may not be as bad. AVhen reading is 
tanght by this method, the attention of the pupil is 
focused not upon the thought or sentence unit, but 
upon the letters and syllables of a word. Hence, the 
pupil forms motor habits in reading which result in 
very short ej^e-span and fixations of long duration. 
The chief value of the phonetic method is that the 
pupil is no longer dependent on the teacher for learn- 
ing new words. It should be used in the word-drill 
study period, never in the silent-reading period. All 
the special phonetic methods greatly overemphasize the 
value of that training, give it too large a place in the 
early work in reading, and pursue it long after its 
essential values have been obtained. 

The word method. The w^ord method, if abused, is 
also detrimental to speed and comprehension. In fact, 
many of the evils that are inherent in the ABC 
and the phonetic methods are present in the word 
method, although to a less degree. 

Many teachers begin with the word method and 
never get awaj^ from it. They begin to teach read- 
ing from a chart on which a half dozen words appear. 
Then the pupils are asked to read short sentences, 
either individually or in concert, while the teacher 
slowly times or isolates each word with a pointer or 
ruler. 

If the primer is used, each child is asked to read 
a line or so, and to point to each word. The highest 



104 SILENT READING 

ambition of some teachers seems to be to have the 
pupil "keep his finger on the place," whether he is 
reading or following the reading of some one else. A 
none too gentle rap on a delinquent's finger tends 
to enforce the rule until he forms the habit of pointing 
to each word as it is read. Thus the child's attention 
is focused on words instead of phrases or whole sen- 
tences. While reading, pupils should not be allowed 
to point to single words. When the teacher points to 
work on the blackboard she should indicate phrases 
or sentences with a sweep of the pointer. 

Criticisms of the word method. Is it any wonder 
that pupils taught by such methods form motor habits 
of narrow perception-units and exceedingly long time 
distribution at each pause? Boiler charts are now to 
be had on which appear phrases and short sentences 
for beginners. These are flashed before the pupil 
one line at a time for one or more seconds. He thus 
forms a habit of seeing and comprehending a whole 
thought unit at one or two fixations. Some teachers 
make use of the blackboard, flash cards, and games for 
the first half year until habits conducive to speed and 
comprehension are formed. For example, the teacher 
writes the entire reading lesson on the blackboard be- 
fore the recitation period. It is then covered. When 
the time comes to read, only one sentence is exposed 
at a time. The exposure is brief lest the pupils form 
slow 'motor habits of reading syllables and words in- 
stead of phrases and sentences at a glance. 



QUESTIONABLE METHODS OF TEACHING 105 

Until recently educators have accepted tlie theory 
that the word-unit method is the natural and most 
economical waj^ of teaching reading to beginners. They 
declared that because the child comes to school with 
a word vocabulary he consequently thinks in words, 
and they insisted that his field of perception is very 
limited. Regarding the latter claim, Dearborn states 
that the amount read per fixation is seldom equal to 
the field of perception. For digits or nonsense syllables 
the attention-span may be rather limited, because such 
material offers scant opportunity for the alws of asso- 
ciation to function. However, when the letters form 
words, sixteen or twenty can be caught in one sweep, 
and in reading ordinary prose four to six words are 
often so included. Note the width of the perception- 
unit of a high-school student as reported by Schmidt 
in the following sentence : 

The stranger who wjould form a coijrect opinion 
of the English charaoter must not confine 

his observations to the metropolis. 

The vertical lines indicate the fixation-points, show- 
ing that the perception-unit may be wider than three 
or four letters, as many advocates of the word method 
would have us believe. If we accept the above state- 
ments of scientific investigators as being trustworthy, 



106 - SILENT READING 

it is evident that the word method does not tax the 
field of perception to the limit. This defect, together 
with the extended time distribution on each word, 
makes the method very questionable. Successful teach- 
ers of reading, who claim to use the word method, suc- 
ceed with it because they use flash cards, blackboard 
work, and other devices in which phrases and short 
sentences really become the perception-units. 

Oral reading. Overemphasis of oral reading was 
another factor which contributed to the deplorable 
status of reading set forth in the preceding chapters. 
The public has a right to ask its teachers, "Why 
should 90 per cent of the classroom reading be oral, 
if 99 per cent of the reading in adult life is silent? 
Why build up a set of motor habits in childhood that 
handicap one in adult life?" 

Oral reading has been emphasized in the lower grades 
because it is said to be the most natural, being an 
expression of irrepressible, psychic tendencies. Those 
who advocate oral reading in those grades do so be- 
cause certain psj^chological factors are involved. Unless 
one is of the extreme visual-image type, the problem 
of inner speech in reading is ever present. There is 
usually an inseparable association between a word and 
its sound so that when the visual image of a word 
is recognized the auditory image of ^the word arises. 
That results in the verbal-motor expression of the 
word. In reading, the auditory and motor centers are 
active; purely visual reading is not normal. Lip- 



QUESTIONABLE METHODS OF TEACHING 107 

reading in children is a perfectly natural tendency, 
especially if their minds are of the motor or auditory 

type. 

The fact that oral reading is natural to the child 
does not at all justify encouraging the practice. Many 
babies naturally want to suck their thumbs, but no 
mother is justified in encouraging that. The truth 
is that oral reading greatly hinders both speed and 
comprehension because it depends on the physiological 
mechanism of vocalization. 

Dr. Schmidt's table^ shows that the average number 
of pauses per line made by the forty-five subjects of 
his experiment when reading silently was 6.5, and the 
average number of pauses made when they read orally 
was 8.2. The average duration of pauses in silent 
reading was .3882 seconds; the average duration in 
oral reading was .3808. Oral reading required 28 per 
cent more pauses to the line, and 24 per cent more 
time at each pause, than did silent reading. This dif- 
ference is explained by the fact that oral reading is 
controlled by speech units rather than divided into 
units of visual perception. 

Method of training* primary pupils. Since oral 
reading retards speed at least 25 per cent, according 
to Schmidt's data, and since it is almost impossible to 
modify those motor habits after they are formed, one 
is justified in making the greatest possible use of 

^Schmidt, "VV. A. "An experimental study in the psycholog-y 
of reading-." SuppJementary Educational Monograph, Vol, 1, No. 
2, University of Chicag-o Press, Chicag-o, 1917. (Consult Tables 
VII and VIII. p. 43.) 



108 SILENT READING 

silent reading even in the first grade. One experi- 
menter has pointed out that if the training in oral 
reading were discontinued at a very early stage, and 
training in rapid silent reading stressed, the tendency 
toward inner speech might be greatly reduced and 
visualization cultivated. 

The fact is that children do have the ability to 
take in all kinds of situations visually without speech 
accompaniment, and that it is unnecessary for them to 
articulate, even inaudibly, when they read symbols. 
This may be demonstrated in any primary-grade read- 
ing class by having the pupils do the thing the symbol 
suggests. For example, the teacher writes on the black- 
board, "Who will bring me the bean bag?" "Let the 
boys play the girls today, ' ' etc. The responses to these 
written symbols are acted out by the children. The 
whole game is played, the score recorded, and the 
material put away by the children without a word 
being spoken by either teacher or pupils. 

Judd reports^ in one of his monographs that the 
tendency to inner speech which oral reading encourages 
may be almost overcome by great effort even in adult 
life. He cites the case of a man who was a lip-reader 
and also an excellent oral reader. His average rate 
of silent reading was very slow, only 2.3 words per 
second. Realizing his handicap, he practiced daily for 
four weeks on easy and familiar material. A conscious 

iJudd, Charles H. "Reading- : Its nature and development." 
Supplementary Educational Monograph, Vol. 2, No. 4, pp. 159, 
160, University of Chicago Press, Chicago. 



QUESTIONABLE METHODS OP TEACHING 109 

effort to suppress articulation, to increase eye-span, and 
to see phrases instead of words was a part of the daily 
exercise. His reward was an ability to read 4.7 words 
and in some cases 6.2 words per second. Further 
training has made him a rapid silent reader. 

Lip-reading". We naturally ask, Why should we 
any longer stress oral reading and thus retard our 
speed and comprehension for life? It has been pointed 
out that lip-reading is natural, being evidence of inner 
speech. Many are of the opinion that it is encouraged 
by emphasizing oral reading in the early grades. Re- 
gardless of what may be the causes, the evils of lip- 
reading are so outstanding that some mention of them 
should be made at this time. 

Quantz^ found that among the subjects of his ex- 
periment the ten pronounced lip-readers were those who 
read 4.1 words per second. Ten who showed least move- 
ment of the lips read 5.6 words per second. In terms 
of percentage, the non-lipreaders read 36 per cent more 
rapidly than the lip-readers did. In percentage of 
thought reproduced, the lip-readers made a score of 
14.9, the non-lipreaders 24.4. In quality, the lip-read- 
ers made a score of 48, the non-lipreaders, 73.3. 

G-ermane's experiment. Further to substantiate the 
findings of Quantz, attention is called to a more recent 
study^ of lip-reading made by Edith Gr. Germane. This 

^Quantz, J. O. "Problems in the psychology of reading." Psy- 
chological Reviem: Monograph Sup%>lem&nt, Vol. 2, No. 1, (De- 
cember) 1897. 

^Germane, Edith G. "Relationship betv/een speed and compre- 
hension in silent reading-." (An unpublished master's disserta- 
tion offered to the State University of Iowa in 1920.) 



110 SILENT READING 

experiment was performed on 450 pupils of the sixth, 
seventh, and eighth grades. The articles used were 
•those on '' Peanuts" and on "Tuberculosis," already 
mentioned. The pupils were asked to read the article 
through once as they ordinarily do a story. The time 
was marked on the blackboard at five-second intervals; 
as soon as a pupil finished reading he looked up, then 
noted and recorded his time. Then he took up the 
list of questions and immediately answered as many 
as possible. While the pupils were reading, three 
teachers recorded the names of those who read with 
decided lip-movement. The rate of speed and the per- 
centage of comprehension of both types of pupils were 
tabulated separately and compared. The lip-readers 
who read the article "Peanuts" were handicapped in 
both speed and comprehension. Sixth-grade lip-readers 
read an average of 161 words per minute. Pupils of 
that grade who were not lip-readers read an average 
of 169 words. In the comprehension test, the average 
score for lip-readers was nine points, eleven points for 
those who were not lip-readers. Seventh-grade lip- 
readers averaged only 156 words per minute and made 
a comprehension score of fifteen points. Those who 
were not lip-readers read 180 words per minute and 
made a comprehension score of fifteen points. Eighth- 
grade lip-readers read an average of 174 words per 
minute and made an average comprehension score of 
sixteen points. Members of that grade who were not 
lip-readers averaged reading 205 words per minute 



QUESTIONABLE METHODS OF TEACHING m 

and made an average comprehension score of eighteen 
points. The results obtained by having the pupils read 
the article "Tuberculosis" showed similar relationships. 
Pupils of the three grades who read that article were 
handicapped in both speed and comprehension. 

The figures here presented probably do not ade- 
quately indicate the seriousness of the handicap. Let 
us look at them from another point of view. In the 
eighth grade the average rate for non-lipreaders who 
read the article "Peanuts" was 205 per minute, and 
for lip-readers it was 174 words per minute, an aver- 
age difference of 31 words per minute or 1,860 words 
per hour. The pamphlet read had about 340 words 
to a page. Hence, the non-lipreaders in the eighth 
grade read an average of five pages more per hour 
than did the lip-readers. If the comprehension of the 
lip-readers had been superior, this handicap in rate 
would not be so serious, but as a matter of fact the 
non-lipreaders made an average score of eighteen points 
in comprehension as compared with the sixteen points 
made by the lip-readers. They excelled the lip-readers 
by practically 13 per cent. 

Suggested treatment for lip-reading". The data pre- 
sented in these two studies convince one of the evils 
inherent in lip-reading. It is difficult to suggest 
a remedy, especially for a child of pronounced motor 
type. It would seem advisable, however, to minimize 
oral reading and stress silent reading with pupils 
who have formed this habit. The tendency toward 



112 SILENT READING 

motor response could be taken care of in primary- 
grades by having the pupil do what the word, phrase, 
or sentence says. Many teachers get excellent re- 
sults by drawing the attention of the pupils to adult 
lip-readers, pointing out how foolish it looks, and 
explaining just how it handicaps the reader. Then 
by some artificial means, such as an honor roll, the 
teacher encourages the pupils to inhibit this tendency. 
Placing the finger on the lips often aids in inhibiting 
lip-movement. 

It seems that lip-reading may be partially checked 
by presenting all drill exercises very rapidly. For 
instance, in a phrase-flashing exercise, make the ex- 
posure of such a group of words as *^ under the 
table" so short that the pupils have not time to 
whisper it word by word. It is well to separate 
pupils into at least tw^o groups (three is better) ac- 
cording to their rate of reading. Lip-readers should 
also receive special drill designed to break the habit. 
Much patience on the part of teacher and pupils is 
necessary if this habit is to be overcome. With 
training, the phrase rather than the word will even- 
tually become the unit. 

Need of speed and comprehension drills. Perhaps 
the greatest cause of poor reading is the teacher's 
failure to make provision for daily training in speed 
and comprehension. No pride in rapid and thoughtful 
reading is developed, and no provision is made in the 
daily schedule which insures practice in speed and 



QUESTIONABLE METHODS OF TEACHING II3 

comprehension. We seem to be concerned with the 
child's getting knowledge rather than with develop- 
ing his ability to acquire knowledge. Part II of this 
book will attempt to show how speed and comprehen- 
sion drills may be made a part of the daily lesson. 

Teaching pupils to organize. Emphasis should also 
be placed on organization. It is surprising how soon 
pupils can be taught to tell when a new paragraph 
begins and ends. Their oral and written outlines 
would often put much older pupils to shame. 

Teaching pupils to retain. The value of daily re- 
views and drills, and of a schedule for general re- 
views, can not be overemphasized. The vital point is 
not how much a child learns, but the method he em- 
ploys to learn. 

Choice of subject-matter. If pupils are to become 
efficient readers, they must have access to an abun- 
dance of material. The contents of the readers most 
widely used are good. Story-books, too, are of value, 
but for purposes of training in getting and organizing 
information, the training must be applied in reading 
such subjects as history, geography, and science. 

SUMMARY 

1. The use of the old ABC method in teaching beginning 
reading does not facilitate the formation of good reading 
habits. 

2. Overemphasis of the phonetic or word methods is un- 
favorable to the development of speed and comprehen- 
sion. 

3. About 90 per cent of the reading period has been de- 



114 SILENT READING 

voted to oral reading; training in the best methods 
of silent reading has been neglected. 

4. Experiments seem to prove that lip-reading is a handi- 
cap that affects both speed and comprehension. 

5. Drill exercises that emphasize speed, comprehension, 
organization, and retention are necessary. 

6. Various kinds of subject-matter should be used. 

7., All defects should be met with proper remedial meas- 
ures. 

SUGGESTED READINGS 

Anderson, C. F.- and Merton, Elda. "Remedial work in 

silent reading." Elementary School Journal, Vol. 21, 

(January) 1921. 
Dearborn, W. F. "The psychology of reading." Columbia 

University Contrihutions to Philosophy and Psychology, 

Vol. 14, No. 1, 1906. 
Gray, William S. "The diagnostic study of an individual 

case in reading," Elementary School Journal, Vol. 21, 

(April) 1921. 
Judd, Charles H. Reading: Its Nature and Development. 

Supplementary Educational Monographs, Vol. 2, No. 4, 

<July) 1918. University of Chicago Press, Chicago. 
Parker, S. C. "How to teach beginning reading: Part IV." 

Elementary School Journal, Vol. 22, (December) 1921. 
Report of the Society's Committee on Silent Reading: Part 

II. The Twentieth Yearbook of the National Society for 

the Study of Education, Public School Publishing Com- 
pany, Bloomington, Illinois, 1921. 
Schmidt, W. A. An Experimental Study in the Psychology 

of Reading. Supplementary Educational Monographs, Vol. 

1, No. 2, (April) 1917. University of Chicago Press, 

Chicago. 
Waldman, Bessie. "Definite improvement of reading in a 

fourth-grade class." Elementary School Journal, Vol. 21, 

(December) 1920. 



CHAPTER VII 

REMEDIAL WORK IN READING 

The importance of remedial work. There are doubt- 
less thousands of boys and girls who fail each year 
and are unable to continue with their classmates be- 
cause of defects which can readily be remedied. For 
such children the results are discouragement, retarda- 
tion, and elimination from school in far too many 
cases. The condition has occasioned much scientific 
research in remedial w^ork in reading. Data gathered 
from these investigations suggest methods for diag- 
nosing reading defects, and devices for remedying 
them. 

Gray cites^ a case that furnishes a good example 
of the value of diagnosis and remedial work. A boy 
slightly above the general intelligence of his age- 
group had been in school four years and Avas still 
unable to read. Careful investigation revealed that 
he had never formed the habit of moving his eyes 
regularly from left to right along a line. At times 
the first pause would be near the end of the line, at 

iGray, William S. "The value of informal tests of reading 
accomplishments." Journal of Educational Research^ Vol. 1, (Feb- 
ruary) 1920. 

115 



IIQ SILENT READING 

other times near the middle of it. The pauses were 
irregular and followed no definite order. 

In order to help this pupil the teacher prepared 
drill exercises consisting of typewritten words placed 
half an inch apart. She then required the boy to 
read a series of such words for five minutes each day 
in order to cultivate habits of regular eye-movement. 
It was soon possible to group words in thought units 
spaced one-half inch apart for his reading exercises. 
Following those exercises he read simple reading ma- 
terial. The ease and accuracy with which he soon 
became able to read indicated that one of the major 
difficulties which hindered the boy's reading had 
been discovered and corrected. 

One of the outstanding weaknesses common to 
many methods of teaching reading is the use of the 
same drill or exercise for a whole class, -in the hope 
that it will cure all reading ills. As a matter of fact, 
there may be as many reading difficulties as there are 
members of the class. For that reason teachers are 
urged to make diagnoses of the pupils' defects. 
"When, such remedial work is attempted, two diffi- 
cult problems arise: What are the particular causes 
of the pupil's oral and silent-reading defects? What 
types of drill will most thoroughly and economically 
remedy the defects? This chapter and the following 
are devoted to a consideration of methods for use in 
discovering reading difficulties, and to suggestions for 
eliminating them. 



REMEDIAL WORK II7 

Means and Methods of Diagnosing Heading 

Difficulties 

Standardized tests. To discover and diagnose oral 
and silent-reading defects is the first task of the 
teacher who attempts to increase either the speed or 
comprehension of her pupils by scientific means. 
What are some of the means and methods that may 
be used to discover reading defects? Teachers in 
many schools are using standardized tests for this 
purpose. If the study habits of the pupils are care- 
fully observed and noted while they are taking the 
tests, and if the test papers are carefully analyzed, 
the teacher can usually discover many reading defects. 
Superintendent C. J. Anderson and Elda Merton^ 
of the public schools of Stoughton, Wisconsin, used 
Gray's Oral-reading Test to determine the errors most 
commonly made by third-grade children in oral- 
reading classes. The classification of errors made and 
the percentage of each kind are shown by the following 
table. 

Classification of errors made by third-grade pupils while 
reading Gray's Oral-reading Test 

Kind of Error Percentage 

Repetition 15 

Insertion (letter or word) 14 

Omission (letter or word) 8 

Substitution 24' 

Mispronunciation 3 

Accent 4 

^Anderson, C. J., and Merton, Elda. "Remedial work in read- 
ing: Parts I and II." Elementary School Journal, Vol. 20, (May, 
June) 1920. 



118 SILENT READING 



Portion omitted 7 

Portion inserted 10 

Omission not changing meaning 4 

Addition not changing meaning 2 

Vowel sounds 2 

Confusing letters not governed by rule 1 

Wrong syllable 3 

Repetition to correct an error 3 

Not attempted 1 

The typical errors made in silent reading were 
discovered by means of two silent-reading tests, 
Monroe's and Thorndike's. The percentages of errors 
of each kind are shown below. 

Kind of Error Frequency Percentage 

Meager meaning vocabulary ' 741 33 

Inability to find the essential idea 423 19 

Omission of part of idea due to short 

unit of visual recognition 306 14 

Giving general thought instead of spe- 
cific answer, or particular instances 
instead of general thought; i. e., in- 
ability to get definite information 

from material read 293 13 

Inaccuracy due to carelessness or haste 90 4 

Failure to differentiate between words 

somewhat similar in spelling 76 3 

Failure to note carefully small words 

and key words 95 4 

Substitution of pupil's own thought for 

that in paragraph 97 4 

Inability to think logically in response 

to question 91 4 

Tn addition to the errors listed above, the follow- 
ing were recorded by teachers who observed the 



REMEDIAL WORK . 119 

pupils' silent reading. (1) Reading word by word 
instead of by thought groups. (2) Vocalization and 
lip-movement. (3) Using the finger to follow the 
line. (4) Short span of attention which results in 
loss of place, and the omission and repetition of 
words. (5) Slow rate of silent reading. Although 
these five headings include the types of errors that 
most frequently occur, there is much overlapping 
in the classification. For example, a slow rate of 
reading may be caused by vocalization and lip-move- 
ment, by using the finger to follow the lines, or 
by a meager number of words understood. 

Teacher-made tests. As shown by the results ob- 
tained from the experiment cited, standardized read- 
ing tests may be used to determine oral and silent- 
reading errors. But what is the teacher to do who is 
not familiar with administering standardized tests 
and interpreting the results obtained? What can 
she do to determine reading errors and defects when 
she has none of the standardized measurements avail- 
able? A reasonable answer to the latter question is 
to suggest that each teacher make her own reading 
tests. 

When measuring the rate and quality of oral 
reading by means of a teacher-made test, the follow- 
ing suggestions should be kept in mind: Select read- 
ing material adapted to the child's grade. The 
pupil's reader or any of his other textbooks may 
be used. Note the exact second at which he reads 



120 SILENT READING 

the first word of the selection and mark the word.^ 
When sixty seconds have elapsed, mark the word 
which he was reading when the minute was up. 
However, let him finish the paragraph. Count and 
record only the words read in one minute. The pupils 
themselves can often do this accurately. In order to 
test comprehension ask such questions about the 
selection as you usually ask. Chart both the speed 
and comprehension record and file for future use. 
Note and record such errors as repetitions, substitu- 
tions, etc. As these data give a basis for remedial 
work, it is well to have the pupil read two or three 
minutes in order to get a definite idea of his needs. 
Follow the same procedure with each member of 
the class. If comparisons are to be made between 
the achievements of the pupils on this first test and 
on other tests given two weeks or a month later, 
the same type of reading material should be used and 
conditions should be as nearly the same as possible 
when the second test is given. 

Devising class standards. If the teacher desires to 
benefit by the wholesome influence that usually 
comes from standardization, she may do so by devising 
standards for the class from the pupils' own records. 
To do this, find the average rate of the three most 
rapid readers in a class of twelve pupils, and the 
average comprehension score of the three who rank 

^Some teachers think they can get a more accurate measure 
of the pupil's actual reading rate if they allow him to read 
three or four lines before they begrin to mark time. 



REMEDIAL WORK 121 

highest in thought-getting. Let these two scores be 
the standards or goals. Generally speaking, the aver- 
age score made by the best fourth of the class affords 
a good stimulus for study. If such a method of 
standardization is adopted throughout the grades, 
the pupils in the upper fourth, who are already up 
to or above the standard of their own grade, may 
take as their goal the standard set for the grade 
immediately above them. The practice of determin- 
ing the standard for the class from the pupils' 
achievements often awakens a genuine interest in 
reading. The personal element involved often causes 
the teacher to raise the question, ^*How well should 
a pupil read in this grade!" 

If the teacher uses the above method of standardiz- 
ing instead of those standards based on scientific 
measurements, she should begin a study of the read- 
ing defects of the 75 per cent who are below the 
class standard. Of the fourteen typical errors in 
oral reading revealed by Gray's Oral-reading Test, 
substitutions, repetitions, and insertions occur most 
often. The teacher can discover any of these by 
having the pupils read three or four paragraphs 
which she selects. Much of this diagnostic work can 
be done in class. A certain study reports that the 
teacher did a large amount of remedial work in one 
grade, although she used little time other than the 
usual recitation period. This is an advisable plan to 
follow, especially when the teacher has many duties. 



122 SILENT READING 

Planning" remedial work. Some teachers do not 
plan their remedial work advantageously. Instead 
of working with one pupil at a time, while the other 
members of the class await their turns, the teacher 
should classify the pupils into several small groups 
on the basis of their reading defects, then unite 
similar groups for certain lessons. During such exer- 
cises good readers who need but little help should 
spend their time improving the quality of their silent 
reading. *'A definite diagnosis of individual traits in 
reading should form the basis of grouping. Every 
trait which influences reading habits can in turn 
be influenced by definite training and special prac- 
tice. "^ 

Anderson and Merton's data record nine reading 
errors discovered when pupils were diagnosed by 
the two silent-reading tests. The teachers who gave 
the tests also noted five other reading defects. The 
last five were determined by carefully observing the 
pupils' study habits when they took the tests. Even 
had standardized tests of silent reading not been 
available, it would have been possible for any of 
those teachers to discover many of the fourteen errors 
by using silent-reading material which they selected, 
as was done when the oral-reading errors were found. 

How to make silent-reading tests. If the teacher 
devises her own silent-reading tests, she should keep 
the folloA\dng facts in mind. Select three or four 

^Zirbes, Taura. "Diag'nostic measurement as a basis for pro- 
cedure." Elementary School Journal,, Vol. 18, (March) 1918. 



REMEDIAL WORK 123 

pages of reading material adapted to the grade. 
Use material found in the pupil's textbooks and sup- 
plementary readers. See that all pupils begin read- 
ing at the same time. Measure the rate of reading 
by calling time at the end of one or two minutes 
and having the pupils find the average number of 
words read per minute. The teacher can expedite 
this work by counting the words in each line and 
writing at the end of the line the total number of 
words on the page up to that point. When the 
pupil shows the teacher the last word he read, she 
adds the last preceding number indicating a total 
to the number of words read in the line with which 
the pupil finished, and thus instantly obtains the 
total number of words read. The teacher can 
measure the pupils' ability to comprehend and to 
retain by having them answer definite questions 
based on what they read. Factual and well-organized 
material lends itself readily to this treatment. The 
questions should be worded so as to demand much 
thinking and little writing. File or chart both speed 
and comprehension scores for future use. Observe 
the pupils' study habits while taking the test, and 
note carefully the kind of errors made. "When subse- 
quent tests are given for purposes of comparison, 
select material as nearly as possible like that first 
used. 

The teacher can arouse much interest by letting 
each pupil compute his own reading rate and figure 



124 SILENT READING 

his own comprehension score. The latter should be 
based on the number of correct answers. The records 
of each pupil may be placed on the blackboard or 
filed for future reference. The teacher can stand- 
ardize these class scores by taking as a standard 
the record made by the upper fourth. As has been 
said, the teacher-made tests and class-made standards 
often excite greater interest than do standardized 
tests and their accompanying standards. The in- 
trinsic value of informal tests as a means of diagnosis 
and standardization has been set forth by Gray/ 
Waldo,^ and Smith.^ 

Eeading scales and tests. The teacher should use 
scales to discover reading difficulties whenever con- 
ditions allow. These scales not only show with what 
speed and accuracy pupils should read, but they also 
furnish a chart of each child's weaknesses. For 
example when the Picture Supplement Scales for 
Measuring Ability in Silent Reading^ was used, it was 
found that some pupils in the third grade read as 
many paragraphs and attempted as many answers as 
are expected of a child two or three grades more ad- 
vanced. A careful check on the accuracy of the 
answers showed that often only a few were correct. 

^Gray, W. S. "Value of informal tests of reading- accomplish- 
ments." Journal of Educational Research, Vol. 1, (February) 1920. 

^Waldo, Carl D. "Tests in reading- in the Sycamore schools." 
Elementary School Journal, Vol. 15, (January) 1915. 

^Smith, Bertha M. "Efficiency in assimilating- reading." School 
Review, Vol. 25, (November) 1917. 

^Burg-ess, May Ayres. Picture Supplement Scales for Measuring 
Ahility in Silent Reading. Russell Sage Foundation, New York 
City, 1920, 



REMEDIAL WORK 



125 



Some pupils were found who read very slowly and 
attempted only a few answers, most of which were 
correct. Some were discovered who could read neither 
rapidly nor accurately. 

In a recent article/ the author of the scale men- 
tioned above outlines a method of classifying pupils 



TABLE V2 

Group Assignments for Silent-Reading Drill, Turner School, Grade III, 

February, 192 i 





At- 
tempts 


Much Drill in Care 


SOiCE 

Drill in 
Carz 


No Drill in Ca£e 




6 or More 
Wrong 


5 Wrong 


4 Wrong 


3 Wrong 


•2 Wrong 


I Wrong 


Wrong 




20 

19 
18 

17 
16 

15 
14 
13 
12 
II 
10 

9 

8 

7 
















































































No 






David 










drill 














in 
speed 




Theodore 




Peter 




John 














Henry 














Barbara 












Marjory 








Francis 








/Elizabeth 
\Charles 


Janet 










LuciUe 


Tim 








Some 


6 

5 










Fred 




Helena 


speed drill 










Winthrop 


Bancroft 
















4 
3 
2 

I 

















Much 
















drill 










/Douglas 
\Ruth 












m 










• 


speed 





































iBursess, May Ayres. "Classroom grouping- for silent-readinff 
drill." Elementary School Journal, Vol. 22, (December) 1921. 

^Taken from an article by May Ayres Burgess which appeared 
in the Elementary School Journal^ December, 1921. 



126 SILENT READING 

whose reading defects have been determined. Teacher 
and pupils thns have these difficulties to guide them 
in selecting the kind of drill needed. The table on 
the opposite page illustrates the method. 

This table shows that one of the pupils — Theodore 
— is a very rapid reader but a rather careless one; 
he attempted thirteen paragraphs and had five 
wrong. Two pupils, Janet and Tim, read eight para- 
graphs and did each exercise .correctly. Douglas and 
Ruth, who represent the third type of pupils, read 
only two paragraphs and failed to answer either 
question correctly. 

If the results of teacher-made tests and the needs 
of pupils as revealed by them are charted on the 
blackboard or made available to teacher and pupils 
by means of a diagram like that in Table V, it will 
perhaps, tend to create a genuine interest in reading. 
Each child will then know what difficulty he has to 
overcome. Teachers are urged to use standardized 
scales and to supplement them with others which 
they make and standardize. 

Pressey's experiment. Luella C. Pressey reports^ 
a reading test which she devised for the second, third, 
and fourth grades. In general her test is based on 
the assumption that two factors — ^ meager vocabulary 
and the persistence of oral-reading habits — affect the 
progress of reading in the early grades. One part 

^Pressey, L. C. "A first report on two diagnostic tests in 
silent reading for grades ii to iv." Elementary School Journal, 
Vol. 21, (November) 1921. 



REMEDIAL WORK 127 

of her test attempts to determine the extent of the 
pupil's vocabulary, the other seeks to discover the 
presence of detrimental oral-reading habits. 

Experimenters who used this test found children 
with the following reading defects: (a) • An extensive 
vocabulary, but a very, slow rate, due perhaps to the 
persistence of detrimental oral-reading habits. {h) 
A rapid rate but a limited vocabulary with consequent 
low standard of comprehension ability. (c) Limited 
vocabulary and slow rate, (d) A persistence of bad 
reading habits formed in the first grade, namely, 
pointing to words, lip-reading, and reading one word 
at a time. Although this test is designed neither to 
point out the words which the child does not know, 
nor to reveal the habits which retard speed, it en- 
ables the teacher to get at the root of the difficulty 
in each case. 

Intelligence tests. The child's mental endowment 
is a factor which greatly affects his reading achieve- 
ment. One should scarcely expect a pupil of low 
mentality to make as much progress as the pupil of 
superior intelligence makes. Theisen has found a 
marked relationship between progress in reading and 
the ability of the bright pupil. However, the teacher 
must not be too ready to ascribe slow progress to 
lack of mental ability. An investigation which has 
been reported shows that slow progress is often at- 
tributed to lack of intelligence when the cause is 
really something else. 



128 SILENT READING 

A number of highly recommended intelligence tests 
are available. Teachers who are acquainted with 
those scientific measurements and the method of 
using them should employ them for diagnostic pur- 
poses. If that is not possible, the teacher can get 
some idea of a pupil's general intelligence by using 
some of the following suggestions, provided the 
child is otherwise normal. (1) Have him read a few 
paragraphs and then coherently reproduce the lead- 
ing thoughts. (2) Have him read a few paragraphs 
of well-organized factual material, then outline them 
briefly. (3) Have him read and interpret a short 
poem or story. (4) Select thirty words wholly 
within the vocabulary of a normal child of his age. 
Allow him sixty seconds to name — not write — the 
opposites of them. (5) Observe his achievements in 
other activities besides reading. 

Some Reading Defects 
Causes and Suggested Remedies 

Physical defects. Almost every survey of pupils' 
achievements in school shows that thousands of chil- 
dren are handicapped in their reading because of 
physical defects which may easily be remedied. 

Recently a study^ was made in an attempt to show 
the relationship between mental power, as determined 
by an intelligence test, and comparative freedom from 
physical defects. This study, based on an examination 

^Sandwick, R. L. "Correlation of physical health and mental 
efficiency." Journal of Educational Research, Vol. 1, (March) 
1920. 



REMEDIAL WORK 129 

of 423 high-school students, produced significant re- 
sults. Practically 53 per cent of the pupils in the 
group having high intelligence scores had no physical 
defects; every pupil in the group having low intelli- 
gence scores had one physical defect or more. *'It 
was noticeable that the defects among the ablest 
group were not only fewer in number, but also less 
serious in character. Some of them, indeed, were only 
temporary. Most of the defects among both groups 
are entirely remediable. This study supports the 
growing conviction that good abilities may be and 
often are masked by the presence of physical defects, 
and it points to the unmistakable duty of the school 
to provide for every child early and frequent physical 
inspection with a systematic follow-up in applying 
remedies." But since physical inspection of children 
comes neither early nor frequently in many schools, 
the responsibility for discovering and helping to rem- 
edy the more common physical defects of pupils rests, 
upon the teacher. The pupil's physical condition and 
his progress in school are so closely related that a 
physical diagnosis should be made at once whenever 
he fails to do average work. 

Defective eyesight ranks first among physical dis- 
abilities which affect reading. Some of the more com- 
mon symptoms of defective vision are, holding the 
book at a distance greater or less than normal, com- 
plaining of blurred lines or letters running together, 
irregular eye-movements in following lines, and fre- 



130 SILENT READING 

quent headaches. Such conditions demand a physi- 
cian's immediate attention. Instances are not un- 
common in which eyeglasses made it possible for 
pupils who were markedly dull and retarded to do 
good work within a short time. 

Malnutrition due to living conditions may also 
cause some nervous disorders. It is not difficult to 
detect this disability. Often a little patient and tact- 
ful inquiry will locate the cause and give the teacher 
an opportunity to suggest a remedy. Proper diet, 
plenty of fresh air, exercise, regular hours of sleep, 
and companionship with children who live under bet- 
ter conditions generally solve the problem. 

Defective hearing often causes a pupil to be ranked 
as stupid. In time he may become retarded because 
he misses much that his teacher and classmates say. 
It is not difficult to detect this defect, but in most 
cases the remedy is beyond the teacher's means. 

Adenoids and defective teeth frequently cause dull- 
ness. In the latter case, the teacher can do much 
preventive work. Decayed teeth should be discovered 
and remedied as soon as possible by either treatment 
or removal, because the poison produced by decompo- 
sition is continually absorbed and may seriously af- 
fect the general health. 

Meaner vocabulary. Gray cites^ the case of a 
seventh-grade boy that illustrates the handicap due 

^Gray, W. S. "Individual difficulties in silent reading- in the 
fourth, fifth, and sixth grades." Twentieth Yearbook of the 
National Societjj for the Study of Education: Part II. Public 
School Publishing Company, Bloomington, Illinois, 1921. 



EEMEDIAL WORK 131 

to a meager vocabulary. This boy was fourteen years 
and ten months old when the remedial work began. 
His teacher reported him as a poor student, one who 
lacked the ability to get ideas from the text. ''When 
asked to tell what he had read, he reproduced a few 
ideas in short, scrappy sentences." He was tested in 
both oral and silent reading. In the former he read 
rapidly, pronouncing the words mechanically and 
enunciating poorly. He paid no attention to punctua- 
tion. The test for comprehension in silent reading 
showed that he ranked below the poorest pupils in 
the two preceding grades. . 

It was evident from these tests that he had learned 
to pronounce words whose meanings he did not know. 
The remedy at once suggested itself, namely, the 
provision of situations that would focus his attention 
upon the ideas which the words conveyed. Since he 
was interested in camp and pioneer life, such books 
as The Boy Scout's Manual, Roosevelt's Winning of 
the West, Custer's Boots and Saddles were given him 
to read silently. He was asked to reproduce either 
orally or in writing parts of the selections read. 
These reproductions were so meager and inadequate 
that it was often necessary for him to re-read and 
work over his assignment four or five times. 

It soon became evident that word study would 
have to be given. The teacher stressed word analysis 
and word building and pointed out the significance of 
the stem of a word, and the effects of prefixes and 



132 SILENT READING 

suffixes on its meaning. The pupil soon came to 
realize the significance of such words as '^recall," 
''reclaim," "rebound," "regain," etc. Synonyms 
were also studied. In so far as possible this work 
was confined to having the pupil discover as many 
synonyms as he could for some word in his favorite 
reading. For example, the expression "indomitable 
hero" occurred in the pioneer stories. Some of the 
words which the boy gave as m^eaning practically the 
same as "indomitable" were "brave," "courageous," 
"resolute," "manly," "bold," "plucky," and "de- 
fiant." 

The pupil's progress w^as measured by comparing 
his achievements at the end of eighteen weeks with 
that of another poor reader in the same grade who 
was not given this training, but who spent the same 
amount of time in preparing and reciting his lesson 
in the usual manner and under ordinary schoolroom 
conditions. The former developed a higher rate in 
silent reading than in oral. The latter made no im- 
provement in rate. In comprehension the former 
made far greater progress than did the latter. 

Reading to enlarge the vocabulary. The methods 
used to strengthen the "meaning vocabulary" of the 
boy mentioned are effective and typical. Doubtless 
the vocabulary of |)upils in any grade can best be 
enlarged by having them read much interesting ma- 
terial suitable to their ability. The types of material 
should not be limited. The child has a right to the 



REMEDIAL WORK 133 

spiritual possessions of the race as contained in the 
best children's literature, in history, stories of travel 
and of plant and animal life. The reading list given 
in the Appendix contains many titles bearing on the 
above subjects. In every classroom there should be 
a little library of at least ten good books for each 
of the grades that recite there. These books should 
be available to pupils who have done the assigned 
work for the day. If these books are not in the 
school library, encourage the children to bring their 
story-books and other interesting reading material 
from home. By means of a system of exchange each 
pupil thus has a chance to read broadly. Teachers 
are often surprised at the wealth of material which 
may be obtained in this way. If approached tactfully, 
boards of education and parents can be led to see 
the wholesome educational value of much supplemen- 
tary reading. A school social or entertainment will 
often yield enough funds to start a library. 

The language period offers another opportunity to 
enlarge the child's vocabulary. Class projects, in- 
dustrial and social, school excursions, school gardens, 
children's pets, childhood experiences, and stories 
found in supplementary readers may be advantage- 
ously utilized to develop a wide and meaningful 
vocabulary. Word drills may also be used. They 
not only aid the child to recognize words quickly, 
but they enable the teacher to emphasize different 
uses of the same word in so far as the pupil's ex- 



134 SILENT READING 

perience allows. Much more can be done for a child's 
vocabulary through wide reading, however, than by 
any form of drill. 

The subnormal child. Poor reading is too often 
attributed to low mentality. Hawley reports^ that 
out of 109 sixth-grade pupils, twenty-one were classed 
as poor readers. Only ten of the twenty-one were 
rated as pupils above average intelligence by mental 
tests, and only six were rated below. Two of those 
below the average made substantial progress in the 
interval between tests. **If their rather low mentality 
were taken as a full explanation of their poor scores 
in the first test, it would be difficult to explain how 
they could make such progress after the tests." An 
experiment conducted in Dr. Horn's elementary school 
at the State University of Iowa confirms the above 
findings. Such data should impress all teachers who 
are disposed to classify every poor reader as dull. 

The kind of remedial measures to be employed in 
cases of low mentality depends largely on the amount 
of the teacher's time and the pupil's degree of mental 
inferiority. If a child is feeble-minded, the regular 
teacher has neither the time nor special training to 
do him justice. Nor can she afford to lower the 
standard of the grade for this particular child. If 
segregation and instruction by a special teacher are 
not possible, it is best to let the child go as *'un- 

iHawley, W. E. "Effect of clear objectives on the teaching- 
of reading." Journal of Educational Research. Vol. 3, (April) 
1921. 



REMEDIAL WORK 135 

graded." If he is in the second grade in reading 
and in the fourth grade in handwork, advance him in 
each subject as rapidly as his capacities allow. One 
must let him fit in here and there as best he can. 

The general intelligence of the majority of sub- 
normal pupils is considerably greater than that of 
those classed as feeble-minded. If special training 
could be given such pupils, many of them would be- 
come able to do much regular classwork. The diffi- 
culties common to the average pupil are very promi- 
nent among subnormal children. In the lower grades, 
the outstanding defects are inability to recognize 
word groups, meager vocabulary, and irregular eye- 
movements. Subnormal children more readily develop 
habits of word naming and pointing. In the upper 
grades, these unfortunate children seem to lack the 
ability to get the central thought in a paragraph, to 
organize the essential points of the lesson into out- 
line or summary form, and to do assimilative read- 
ing, that is, collateral thinking of related experiences. 
The teacher can advantageously apply some of the 
remedial work suggested on the following pages when 
teaching the subnormal child. 

Word recognition. The ability of pupils to recog- 
nize words readily can be quickly and accurately de- 
termined by oral-reading or flash-card tests. Hesita- 
tion, mispronunciation, substitution, omission, and in- 
sertion are the chief evidences of failure to recognize 
words. 



136 SILENT READING 

In the lower grades, flash-card exercises and other 
forms of word drills may be used to develop quick 
word recognition. So far as possible the words and 
phrases used in these drills should be those found in 
the pupil's reading material. Poor word recognition 
in the second and third grade may be due to lack 
of training in the use of phonics. Anderson and 
Merton report^ the effect of ten lessons in phonics 
upon the word-recognition ability of a certain boy. 
Before receiving the special training he was tested 
on a list of words common to his grade. The table 
below shows the results of the special training. 



Date 
February 18 


Number of Words 
Attempted 

55 


Number of 
Errors 

17 


Percentage 
Correct 

61 


March 13 


368 


17 


95 



The table should be interpreted thus : Before 
remedial work in phonics was given, the pupil at- 
tempted to name 55 words in a given list, and failed 
on 17; after ten drill lessons, 368 words were at- 
tempted, and only 17 were wrong. 

One of the most effective means of improving word 
recognition is to supplement the devices suggested 
above by supplying the pupils with much easy and 
interesting reading material. This insures a review of 
many words in new settings. The ease and rapidity 
with which the child reads such stories are affected 
by his command of phonics and his ability to recog- 
nize words. 

^Anderson, C. J., and Merton, Elda. "Remedial work in read- 
ins: Part I." Elementary School Journal, Vol. 20, (May) 1920. 



REMEDIAL WORK I37 

Even for upper-grade pnpils, the flash-card exer- 
cise is one of the most desirable types of drill work 
on quick word and phrase recognition. Such drill 
has proved beneficial even to college freshmen. 
Special drills on word building and synonyms sug- 
gested by the report of Gray's study mentioned 
earlier in this chapter are beneficial. Laura Zirbes 
suggests^ ten types of lessons for remedial work in 
reading. A part of the fifth lesson appears below. 
She has found that pupils need special drill on words 
that begin or end alike. The following words are 
suitable for such drill. 



when 


who 


every 


even 


what 


there 


never 


ever 


then 


their 


than 


certain 


that 


women 


man 


curtain 


how 


woman 







Too little emphasis on phonics. In the intermediate 
and upper grades, many children are retarded in read- 
ing by too little emphasis on phonics as well as by 
too much emphasis on that phase of instruction. We 
shall first consider a case where the pupil was handi- 
capped because of no phonic training. 

Anderson and Merton cite^ the case of a girl who 
was struggling along in the fourth grade, although she 
was unable to read primer material. They determined 
that lack of a knowledge of phonics prevented her 

^Zirbes, Laura. "Diagnostic measurement as a basis for pro- 
cedure." Elementary School Journal, Vol. 18. (March) 1918. 

-Anderson, C. J., and Merton, Elda. "Remedial work in read- 
ing": Part II." Elementary School Journal, Vol. 20, (June) 1920. 



138 SILENT READING 

from reading even primer material independently. 
They then gave the child eleven lesson in phonics and 
word recognition, teaching six phonic rules in the first 
six lessons. Eighty-seven words were studied and learned 
according to those rules. The last five lessons were 
devoted to a study of phonograms, from five of which 
157 words were developed. When the eleventh lesson 
was finished, 244 words involving six phonic rules and 
five phonograms had been built up. On March 13 
a word test was given containing 225 of these words. 
A comparison of the results of this test with those 
obtained from the one given February 18 is shown 
below. 





Number of Woros 


Number of 


Percentage 


Date 


Attempted 


Errors 


Correct 


February 18 


24 


7 


70 


March 13 


225 


13 


94 



The efficacy of phonic drill as an auxiliary to word 
recognition becomes significant when one recalls that 
only eleven lessons were given to this pupil. Gray's 
Oral and Silent-reading Tests were then administered 
again, and the results compared with the scores made 
before taking phonic drill and word drill. The errors 
for the first three paragraphs totaled nine on the 
last test, as against twenty-nine on the first test. The 
pupil's scores in quality and rate were higher on the 
last test than on the first. 

It was thought best to follow up these phonic-drill 
lessons with other lessons which emphasized word 



REMEDIAL WORK I39 

analysis, oral reading for quality and content", and 
silent reading for rate and quality. The Free and 
Treadwell Primer^ was chosen for the beginning work 
in oral reading because of its rich content so simply 
told. Twenty-seven lessons of this type were given. 
Standardized silent-reading tests were again adminis- 
tered at the conclusion of these lessons. The following 
changes were noted: The rate was more than doubled 
for both selections in the last test. Quality score 
changed from in the first test to 35 and 17 respec- 
tively in the last test. Lip-movement, which was very 
noticeable in the first test, occurred now only when 
the pupil encountered difficult words. 

Overemphasis of phonics. Gray reports^ the case 
of a fourth-grade girl who was a fluent oral reader 
but who comprehended very little of what she read. 
She was asked to read a passage from her fourth reader 
silently, for the purpose of getting the thought well 
enough to reproduce it later. She reproduced more 
or less inaccurately only a very small amount of what 
she read. Of the questions asked, she answered only 
one, that incorrectly. After a careful analysis of all 
available data, the examiner concluded that the child's 
rudimentary knowledge of the mechanics of reading 
enabled her to recognize words and to read material far 

^This is the first book of the Free and Treadwell Reading- 
Literature Series published by Row, Peterson and Company, Chi- 
cago. 

sQray, W. S. "Individual difficulties in silent reading in the 
fourth, fifth, and sixth grades." Twentieth Yearbook of the Na- 
tional Society for the Study of Education: Part II. Public School 
Publishing Company, Bloomington, Illinois. 1921, 



l^Q SILENT READING 

beyond her comprehension. She read words as names 
and not as symbols of ideas. The problem was plainly 
that of training her to read for content. 

The remedial exercises consisted of passages taken 
from second and third-grade readers. The first passage 
was very short and contained few ideas. Each suc- 
ceeding passage was somewhat longer and made in- 
creasing demands on the reader. "When exercises were 
assigned, the pupil's attention was directed to mean- 
ings rather than to pronunciations. ''After she had 
given a reproduction of the story and had answered 
a number of specific questions about it, she was asked 
to re-read the selection in search of any thoughts she 
had overlooked during the first reading. She then 
gave a second reproduction. This last reproduction was, 
no doubt, largely a result of the questioning. Never- 
theless, it was valuable in training the pupil to see 
the richness of content in the selection." 

The training period lasted for six weeks. One 
thirty-five minute lesson was given each week; in one 
week two lessons were given. From five to seven 
paragraphs were assigned at each lesson according to 
the plan described. "When the silent-reading records 
of December and May were compared, they showed 
a decided increase in the rate and quality of the 
pupil's silent reading. In December she was unable 
to reproduce a single thought cr to answer a single 
question. In May she was fairly efficient in her ability 
to reproduce. 



REMEDIAL WORK . 141 

SUMMARY 

1. The problem of remedial measures is one of the most 
important phases of reading instruction and probably 
the least understood. 

2. Valuable means and methods of diagnosing reading 
difficulties are: Standardized tests, informal or teacher- 
made tests, diagnostic reading scales, and mental tests. 

3. The results of an experiment show that 78 per cent 
of the oral-reading defects in a particular group of 
children were distributed as follows : Repetitions, 15 
per cent; insertions, 24 per cent; omissions, 15 per 
cent; substitutions, 24 per cent. 

4. After using silent-reading tests as a means of diag- 
nosing silent-reading difficulties, the results showed that 
79 per cent of the errors can be grouped under the 
following headings: Meager vocabulary, 33 per cent; 
inability to find the main idea, 19 per cent; omission 
of part of the idea due to short span of perception, 
14 per cent; inability to concentrate and get specific 
data, 13 per cent. 

5. The factors which prove detrimental to good oral and 
silent reading should receive the teacher's attention. 

6. Among the causes of poor reading are (1) physical de- 
fects such as eye and ear trouble, enlarged adenoids, 
enlarged and diseased tonsils, malnutrition, and de- 
cayed teeth, (2) meager vocabulary, (3) subnormality, 
(4) lack of ability to recognize words. 

SUGGESTED READINGS 

Brooks, S. S. "Conditions revealed by the use of stand- 
ardized tests in rural schools." ' Journal of Educational 
Research, Vol. 3, (January) 1921. 

Burgess, May Ayres. "Classroom grouping for silent-reading 
drill." Elementary School Journal, Vol. 22, (December) 
1921. 

Gray, W. S. "The value of informal tests of reading ac- 
complishment." Journal of Educational Research, Vol. 1, 
(February) 1920. 



142 SILENT READING 

Gray, W. S. "The use of tests in improving instruction." 

Elementary School Journal, Vol. 19, (October) 1918. 
O'Hern, J. P. "Development of a chart for attainment in 

reading." Journal of Educational Research, Vol. 3, (May) 

1921. 
Smith, Bertha M. "Efficiency in assimilating reading." 

School Revietv, Vol. 25, (November) 1917. 
Uhl, W. L. "The interest of junior high-school pupils in 

informational reading selections." Elementary School 

Journal, Vol. 22, (January) 1922. 
Uhl, W. L. "The use of the results of reading tests as a 

basis for planning remedial wcrk." Elementary School 

Journal, Vol. 17, (December) 1916. 
Wilson, Estaline. "Specific teaching of silent reading." 

Elementary School Journal, Vol. 22, (October) 1921. 
Wyman, J. B. and Wendle, Miriam. "What is reading 

ability?" Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol. 12, 

(December) 1921. 



CHAPTER VIII 
EEMEDIAL WORK IN READING (Continued) 

Persisting Primaey-Grade Reading Habits 
Pointing" to words. Many teachers allow primary 

pupils to point to words when reading, and to point 
and read silently while a classmate reads orally. Some 
teachers even require primary pupils to do that. To 
devise a more effective method for training pupils to 
read slowly and listlessly would tax the effort of a 
genius. In the sample lessons of Part II we have 
explained the use of a marker which renders the forma- 
tion of the pointing habit unlikely if used in beginning 
reading work. However, if the pupils form the habit of 
pointing when they read, the teacher must take steps to 
correct it. She should make clear that reading consists 
in getting ideas from print, and that ideas are more 
often conveyed by groups of words than by single 
words. This fact should be illustrated by examples. 
She should explain that because the eye can see a 
group of words more quickly than the finger can point 
to a single word, the good reader is one who reads 
phrases, or other groups of words, not one who points 
to single words as he reads. Those who point to each 
word as they read it can only read in a slow and 

143 



244 SILENT READING 

drawling manner; good and pleasing expression is for 
them impossible. The bad habit of pointing when 
reading can be overcome by having the pupils read 
interesting and familiar material under time pressure. 

Word focus. Making the word instead of the 
thought unit the focus of attention may be due to 
overemphasis of phonics, pointing to words, meager 
vocabulary, overemphasis of oral reading, or an un- 
usually narrow perception-span. Remedial measures 
for each of these defects are suggested in this and the 
preceding chapter. 

Oral reading. As w^e have said, overemphasis of 
oral reading tends to develop the habit of reading 
slowly because the mechanism of vocalization makes it 
impossible for a child to read orally as rapidly as he 
can see words. Buswell's investigation^ of Avhat occurs 
when one reads orally has some practical suggestions 
for teachers. He observed that in oral reading the 
eye moves along the line of print in advance of the 
voice, at times keeping very far ahead and at other 
times very little in advance. Immature and poor 
readers keep eye and voice very close together; their 
eye-voice span is narrow. An eye-voice span of con- 
siderable length is necessary in order that the reader 
may get an intelligent grasp of the material ahead, 
and so read with good expression. Without a long 
eye-voice span reading is only a series of spoken words. 

^Buswell, G. T. "The relationship iDetween eye-perception and 
voice-response in reading." Journal of Educational Psychology, 
Vol. 12, (April) 1921. 



REMEDIAL WORK I45 

A positive correlation exists between wide eye-voice 
span and mature reading habits. The eye-voice span 
of good readers in the elementary grades averages 58 
per cent more than that of poor readers; among high- 
school students the good readers have an eye-voice 
span 36 per cent wider than that of the poor readers. 
A good reader's eye- voice span is relatively wide at 
the beginning of a line and relatively narrow at the 
close. Such readers inhibit voice action until the eye 
has gained a considerable lead, that is, until they 
comprehend the first few words. They owe their good 
expression to looking ahead until they apprehend com- 
plete ideas. Poor readers begin voicing words as soon 
as their eyes see the first word in a line. They should 
be taught to pause until they get the first complete 
idea. It is evident that if these principles are applied 
by those who read orally, there will be little if any 
poor oral reading. 

The perception-unit. A recent article/ which em- 
phasizes the importance of developing habits of wide 
perception-span, declares that it is almost impossible 
to overestimate the value of developing a broad eye- 
span in reading. Both Dearborn and Schmidt have 
shown that the perception-span of the average reader 
is by no means taxed to its limit. A narrow percep- 
tion-unit results in word naming, poor comprehension, 
and monotonous oral expression. Such a condition 

^O'Brien, John A. "Training- in perception as a means of 
accelerating- the silent-reading rates." Journal of Edxicational 
Psychology, Vol. 11, (October) 1920. 



146 SILENT READING 

may be remedied by using flash-card exercises for 
word and phrase drill, by giving pupils definite 
assignments and exercises which cause them to read 
for thought, by training them from the beginning 
to see groups of words and to think in terms of 
phrases and sentences, by giving them much easy and 
interesting material to read, and by not emphasizing 
phonics until the pupils have formed the habit of 
reading for thought. An early presentation of phonics 
tends to focus the attention on parts of words and so 
causes pupils to read single words instead of word 
groups. 

Lack of a knowledge of English. It is not unusual 
to find pupils who come from homes where English 
is not spoken or even seen in print except, perhaps, 
in advertisements. Such children often do poor 
work and easily become discouraged because they 
fail to comprehend much of the subject-matter on 
account of a limited English vocabulary, and because 
the realization that they speak ''broken English'' 
makes them self-conscious and timid. On account of 
their shyness they are often classed as dull. 

The first lessons used in teaching the non-English- 
speaking child must be directed toward giving him 
an understanding of the spoken language and an 
ability to speak it. Reading should be introduced 
only as it stimulates him and aids him to increase 
his vocabulary. Conversational lessons based on 
topics within the range of his interests and experi- 



REMEDIAL WORK I47 

ences, telling and dramatizing stories, sand-table 
projects, school gardens, and games are excellent 
means of stimulating expression. The child should 
be encouraged to participate in the activities of the 
recreation periods; he will learn much by observing 
and listening. 

After the pupil has acquired a speaking vocabulary 
which enables him to get along with the group, con- 
versational lessons on topics of interest should form 
the basis of his reading lessons. The teacher should 
stress this work, especially when the child is over age 
and too mature for the simple material found in 
the primers. Many simple stories and books should 
be made available. If the pupil experiences unusual 
difficulty, he should be given special phonic drills. 

Inability to use reference books. As early as pos- 
sible, teachers should help pupils to form the habit of 
using the dictionary. That is sometimes done even 
in the third grade. Very often the teacher begins 
the work in the fourth grade by giving a series of 
talks on the use of the dictionary. The plan has 
proved helpful to children because it acquaints them 
with an auxiliary for use in preparing their reading 
lessons. From the dictionary they learn the prin- 
ciples of syllabication, accent, correct pronunciation, 
and how to discriminate among the various meanings 
of a word. 

In order to do satisfactory remedial work in read- 
ing, it is often necessary for pupils to have a working 



148 SILENT READING 

knowledge of the dictionary. This was shown in 
the discussion of word building, word analysis, and 
the study of synonyms, as possible remedies for cer- 
tain reading defects. Other uses for the dictionary 
arise daily in the reading or language work. The 
pronunciation, derivation, and uses of a few words 
should often be made a part of the next day's assign- 
ment. 

In speaking of the misuse of the dictionary Klapper 
says : 

Practice in the use of the dictionary should be re- 
served exclusively for home work and seat work; it 
should never be given during an oral recitation. It 
is a common practice for teachers to stop a reading 
lesson while a word is being looked up in the dictionary 
by a member of the class. The nervousness which re- 
sults from a consciousness that the class is watching 
makes the child who is thus victimized take much longer 
than usual, and in his excitement he reads off the wrong 
definition. The spirit and the forward movement of 
the whole lesson are killed for the petty interest in a 
word. Despite the pedagogical dictum, *^ Never tell what 
the child can find out for itself,-" the teacher should 
give the meaning of the word and make no more ado.^ 

The ease with which a large amount of accurate 
data can be collected by using the alphabetical in- 
dexes, tables of contents, and cross references of 
books, should be demonstrated to all upper-grade 
pupils. Many teachers now demand that pupils be 
given special training in finding and collecting in- 

^Klapper, Paul. Teaching Children to Read. D. Appleton & 
Company, New York City, 1914. 



REMEDIAL WORK 149 

formation in an economical way. Snch training 
should by all means be given and in the most prac- 
tical manner possible. 

The following is a brief summary of the achieve- 
ments of 256 seventh-grade pupils who were given a 
test designed to find out whether they knew how to 
use a book :^ . 

58.9 per cent did not make use of the table of contents. 

49.5 per cent failed to use the index. 

29.6 per cent failed to discover a list of maps. 
21.4 per cent could not locate the appendix. 

27.3 per cent had no idea of the purpose of a footnote. 
23.0 per cent conld not find the paragraph headings. 

65.7 per cent ^Yere unable to discover that the author had 
provided lists of references for the reader's help 
and guidance. 

A knowledge of the economical use of books is of 
the utmost importance to pupils when assignments are 
made by topics, projects, or problems, because such 
assignments usually require much reading in Avorks 
of reference. The ease and accuracy with which data 
bearing on a particular problem may be found in 
such work appeals to the pupils. The teacher can 
motivate training in collecting information hy asking 
for special written reports on various phases of 
some class problem. In a junior high-school class at 
the State University of Iowa, the teacher assigned 
each pupil one phase of a certain problem. She then 
asked each to prepare a carefully written theme and 
furnish it with a bibliography. Later, each pupil 

iFinch, Charles E. "Jimior high-school study tests." School 
Review, Vol. 28. (March) 1920. 



150 SILENT READING 

read his paper to the group, the members of which 
then discussed it and reached certain conclusions. 
Such work develops good study habits. 

Carelessness and carefulness. Teachers have ob- 
served that many pupils read very rapidly but care- 
lessly. Burgess^ reports that some pupils rapidly 
read the first half of a paragraph, then jump to the 
next one. Some read paragraph after paragraph at 
a rate much beyond the standard of the grade, but 
neglect to follow a single direction or suggestion 
stated. Many pupils read so rapidly and inaccurately 
that they fail to note meaningful key words such as 
''had,'' ''in,'' ^^on," ''out," "not," "run," etc. 
Sometimes the meaning of a whole sentence is changed 
by mistaking "kind" for "king," "man" for "mat," 
etc. On the other hand, some pupils who read slowly 
and laboriously are overcareful. They seem not to 
know when they have finished with a paragraph, but 
continue to re-read it lest some puzzling statement 
may be overlooked. Some do not know how to start 
quickly on an assignment. 

The remedial drills and methods of training which 
one should use for those two types of readers are, of 
course, diametrically opposed in nature. The teacher 
should require the careless reader to explain words, 
phrases, and sentences accurately, and to follow di- 
rections carefully. The pupil must use reading ma- 
terial which permits of accurate interpretation. The 

iBurgess, May Ayres. "Classroom grouping- for silent-reading 
drill." Elementary School Journal, Vol. 22, (December) 1921. 



REMEDIAL WORK 151 

teacher must provide the slow and overcareful pupil 
with exercises which require him to read and think 
rapidly. She must require him to get the main 
points of a paragraph from a single reading, and she 
must help him to develop an aggressive attitude. 

Errors made in oral reading*. In Chapter VII 
(page 117) we presented a table which shows the 
percentage of frequency of the four chief errors made 
by a group of third-grade pupils. Twenty-four per 
cent of the errors were substitutions, 15 per cent 
repetitions, 24 per cent insertions, and 15 per cent 
omissions of words or parts of words. Since these 
four kinds of errors comprise 78 per cent of the total 
of all made, there is an evident need for tested 
remedial measures in such cases. 

Before we can suggest effective remedial measures, 
we must understand the causes of the errors. Trust- 
worthy investigations reveal that the chief sources 
of trouble are meager vocabulary, irregular eye-move- 
ments, lack of a knowledge of phonics, narrow eye- 
voice span, narrow perception-units, and inability to 
phrase or group Avords in thought units. As these 
defects also cause difficulty in silent reading, the 
same types of remedial work may well be given to 
pupils in both kinds of classes. 

Anderson and Merton's experiment. Anderson and 
Merton report^ the striking case of a fourth-grade 
pupil who was a very poor reader. In oral reading, 

^Anderson, C. J., and Merton, Elda. "Remedial work in read- 
ing-: Part II." Elementary/ School Journal. Vol. 20, (June) 1920. 



152 SILENT READING 

repetition and substitution were frequent and he 
seemed not to apprehend the meanings of the words 
he read. His greatest difficulty was an inability to 
phrase, that is, to group the words in idea units. In 
reading any sentence, words must be grouped in a 
certain way in order to give the thought the author 
wishes to convey. This boy did not recognize this 
fact but divided his words into groups by mere 
chance. Failing to understand a sentence, he re-read 
it; he substituted words, then read it again, until he 
found himself utterly confused. 

Remedial instruction in this case consisted entirely 
of practice in phrasing. It began with sentences 
written on the blackboard. The boy used vertical 
lines to mark the phrasing that he considered correct. 
His first attempt resulted in this division: 



One morning 



when he went out very early he saw 



tracks on the snow. 

After being questioned he decided to change the 
phrasing to the f oUoAving : 



One morning when he went out very early 



tracks on the snow. 



he saw 



After he had become accustomed to this nev/ way 
of reading, he began to use a third-grade reader. 



REMEDIAL WORK I53 

In the first lesson the boy read the selection 
through once without help of any kind. As he 
read, the teacher kept a record of all errors. He 
was then given a small card which he was to use 
for dividing the lines into word groups. He then re- 
read the selection. He placed the card at the end 
of the first phrase, read it, then placed the card at 
the end of the next phrase, read it, and continued in 
that manner until he ha4 finished the selection. At 
first this was slow and difficult work. He often 
placed the card after the wrong word, and skillful 
questioning was necessary to lead him to see his error. 
After reading the selection two or three times in 
this way, he was asked to read it without the card. 
The result showed a remarkable change in this boy's 
reading. Errors were practically eliminated, phrasing 
was almost perfect, and expression was greatly im- 
proved. The teacher also kept a record of the errors 
made during the last reading. 

Beginning with the third lesson the boy was re- 
quired to prepare each lesson according to the fol- 
lowing plan. He first reviewed the material studied 
during the previous lesson. The teacher kept a record 
of all errors, and used it as a check on the last pre- 
ceding record in order to determine the extent to 
which memory had helped the pupil. Following 
that he read the new selection the first time without 
help. The record of errors made during this reading 
was kept very accurately in order to determine the 



154 SILENT READING 

pupil's rate of improvement, since Ms ability to read 
at sight was to be the true test of the success or 
failure of the training. With the aid of the card 
he then read the selection carefully two or three 
times. The teacher kept no record of the errors 
made during this reading. She devoted all her time 
to helping the pupil with the phrasing. The pupil 
read the selection the last time without using the 
card. The teacher kept a record of the errors made 
during this reading, in order to demonstrate to the 
pupil the effect of his practice. 

In May this boy averaged only 1 error in every 32 
words of fourth-grade material read at sight. That 
was a decided improvement over the February record 
which showed an average of 1 error in every 7 words 
of third-grade material. In all, this pupil had only 
thirty such lessons. During the first ten, based on 
third-grade material, he read 1,892 words and aver- 
aged 1 repetition in every 59 words. During the last 
ten lessons, based on fourth-grade material, he read 
3,045 words with no repetitions. This improvement 
in the ability to read is the more noteworthy when 
one considers that during the later lessons the boy 
read more difficult material, although the recitation 
period was not lengthened. 

Gray's experiment. Gray cites^ the case of a fifth- 
grade boy who read slowly because he recognized 

^Gray, W, S. "Individual difficulties in silent reading in the 
fourth, fifth, and sixth grades." TtventietJi Yearbook of the 
National Societij for the Study of Education: Part II. Public 
School Publishing Company, Bloomington, Illinois, 1921. 



REMEDIAL WORK 155 

only a very small unit at each fixation of the eyes. 
An investigation of his difficulty showed clearly that 
he did not recognize words in groups or thought units. 
In order to provide training in the rapid recognition 
of word groups, eight phrase books were prepared, in 
each of which a phrase was pasted on each page. 
The first book contained ten very simple phrases 
taken from a primer. Each succeeding book in the 
series contained the same number of longer and more 
difficult phrases. The eighth book contained phrases 
from a sixth reader. In conducting drill exercises, 
the teacher flashed each page so quickly that the 
pupil had time for only one fixation of the eyes. As 
soon as a phrase was exposed, the pupil told what 
he had seen. Each entirely correct response was 
graded ten points. This drill was continued for four- 
teen days. 'Each day some thirty phrases were flashed. 
No phrase book was discontinued until the pupil was 
able to make a perfect score on two successive days. 
During the fourteen days' drill, six books were used, 
on five of which the pupil twice scored a hundred. 

Flash cards bearing phrases are equally effective 
for this sort of drill. 

The effect of the phrase-book drill in increasing the 
rate of reading, in the case cited, is shown by the data 
below. 

Lesson 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 

Words read! gQ ^^ ^^ ^^ g^ gg gg ^^ g^^ g^ g^ gg jqq ^^^^ 
per minute j 



156 SILENT READING 

Reading" abilities and reading materials. The re- 
sults of some recent studies discredit the belief in 
one general reading ability. Rather, there are as 
many reading abilities as there are types of material 
and kinds of reading attitudes. The following para- 
graphs treat of the effects of material and attitude on 
reading. The Presseys found^ that pupils who rank 
among the best when reading narrative material, are 
often among the poorest when reading general scien- 
tific material. The correlation between the scores 
made in the two examinations is low. The pedagogical 
inference is clear. Training pupils to read one type 
of material well does not insure their reading all 
types well. Each type of reading material calls for 
a particular method of attack. 

Reading attitudes. The type of material often 
affects the attitude of the reader. Concerning this 
Parker says : 

For example, contrast the attitudes in reading poetry 
and in rapidly scanning a newspaper column. In the 
poetry reading your attitude is likely to include enjoy- 
ing the lilt and swing of the rhythm, and your read- 
ing, consequently, will include careful rhythmic phras- 
ing. In the newspaper scanning your attitude is one 
of selecting much of the material and actively * grabbing 
off' a few ideas or statements. Another example of 
contrasting attitudes in reading is found in reading 
the 'funnies' in the newspaper and reading Lincoln's 
Gettysburg address. The emotional 'set' of our mind 

iPressey, L. C. and S. L. *"A critical study of the concept 
of silent-reading ability." Journal of Educational Psychology, 
Vol. 12, (January) 1921. 



REMEDIAL WORK 157 

in the case of reading the 'funnies' is such that it 
shocks us to think of approaching Lincoln's address 
with the same attitude.^ 

The kinds of exercises used in reading classes 
should be as varied as the demands made on the 
reader in connection with his later reading, both in 
and out of school. The average individual is called 
upon to utilize reading ability in a variety of ways. 
He reads for the purpose of giving a coherent repro- 
duction later, or for enjoyment and appreciation. 
Some scan an article rapidly in search of the answer 
to some question or problem, others to get the author's 
point of view or philosophy. Some readers wish to 
weigh and evaluate the ideas or conclusions in an 
article, some to discover new problems or new aspects 
of the topic under consideration. Sometimes one 
reads in order to organize the main points of an 
article in the form of a summary. 

In addition to having a definite purpose for the 
guidance of our reading, we need to do much collateral 
thinking when we read. Lyman calls that *^ assimila- 
tive reading.'* The idea is illustrated by an inter- 
pretation of the following lines from Kipling's 
*' Recessional." 

God of our fathers, known of old. 
Lord of our far-flung battle-line. 

Beneath whose awful hands we hold 
Dominion over palm and pine — 

iParker, Samuel Chester, "How to teach beginning reading-," 
Elementary School Journal, Vol, 22, (October) 1921. 



158 SILENT READING 

In reading the last line, how many pupils will 
image the luxuriant palms of tropical India and con- 
trast them with the tall rugged pines of the northern 
Canadian forests? Unless the reader does such col- 
lateral thinking, he can appreciate neither the extent 
of the British Empire nor the responsibilities of the 
British people. Unless pupils are trained to reflect 
when they read, the words of a poem may be mis- 
taken for the poem itself, although the words are 
''only instructions as to what to do with our mem- 
ories and our imaginations, our reason, and our 
understanding, in order to create within ourselves 
the story of the poem. "^ 

One may ask why some pupils are able to read 
and reproduce narrative prose and poetry reasonably 
well, but are confused by highly factual, well-organ- 
ized material such as is found in textbooks of geo- 
graphy, physiology, nature study, general science, and 
arithmetic. This is partially explained when one con- 
siders that specific training and instruction in reading 
is generally confined to the reading period, and that 
narrative prose and poetry are the materials usually 
read and discussed. It is also likely that pupils read 
narrative prose and poetry with the *' mental set" 
of enjoyment and leisure, while other kinds of ma- 
terial demand keen analysis, differentiation, evalua- 
tion, and organization. The teacher should endeavor 
to create a proper *' mental set" for factual material. 

^Kerfoot, J. B. How to Read, Houg-hton Mifflin Company, 
Boston, 1916. 



REMEDIAL WORK 159 

Study habits. Many pupils read all material in 
the same way. In their textbook reading they devote 
as much time to trivial matters as to important ones. 
Even college and high-school students often lack the 
ability to read with discrimination. The following para- 
graph is suggestive of what one can do to prevent 
pupils from forming the habit of indiscriminate read- 
ing, and to correct the habit if it is already formed. 

If, during a recitation, a teacher never remarks that 
one thing is more important or less important than 
another, if she never asks questions that require pupils 
to judge of relative values, and if she never indicates 
emphasis when making assignments, or never points out 
that certain parts of the material should be read rap- 
idly, other parts carefully — how then can she expect 
pupils to form the habit of varying their rate of read- 
ing or to become able to judge when they may profit- 
ably do so? Many college students admit that their 
teachers gave them the impression that any study which 
was less than a complete mastery of material was not 
academically respectable. 

The important task of the teacher is to get pupils 
to ask more significant questions, not only during the 
recitation but also when they are reading and prepar- 
ing their lessons. The methods which should be em- 
ployed by the teacher who wishes to stimulate her pupils 
to do assimilative reading can not be scientifically de- 
termined until we discover the characteristics of a skilled 
silent reader. According to Lyman the skillful reader 



IQQ SILENT READING 

is one who reads with a definite purpose, having some 
problem in mind; one who grasps the author's point 
of view and central theme, and lays hold on the order 
and arrangement of his ideas; one who pauses occa- 
sionally in order to summarize and repeat, and con- 
stantly questions what he reads ; one who continually 
supplements from his own mental stock, judges the value 
of what he reads, varies the rate of his progress through 
the reading, and ties up what he reads with problems 
of his own. The efficient reader does all these things, 
whether or not he is aware of it. 

Whether the teacher accepts Lyman's characteristics 
of the skillful silent reader, or those given on previous 
pages, is of little consequence. The important thing 
is to provide devices, methods, and exercises which will 
enable pupils to attain those objectives. In other words, 
teachers must make a direct effort to increase the child's 
comprehension, and then must help him to formulate 
a plan for doing those things which enable him to 
comprehend well. When teacher and pupils realize the 
definite standards they must attain, and the particular 
mental habits which must be formed, their work becomes 
constructive. 

Methods for developing assimilative reading habits 
are discussed and illustrated in Part II. The sugges- 
tions advise teachers to give pupils study questions on 
the following day's assignment, to call for those answers 
and have them discussed on the following day, to en- 

iLyman, R. L. "The teaching of assimilative reading in the 
junior high school." School Eevieiv, Vol. 28, (October) 1920. 



REMEDIAL WORK Igj 

courage pupils to ask questions in class, to encourage 
wholesome, thoughtful class discussion and constructive 
criticism, to teach pupils how to find the central thought 
in each paragraph and how to outline or summarize 
the whole lesson, to encourage them to select leading 
questions for discussion on the following day, and to 
create in the pupils a critical attitude toward the au- 
thor's data, point of view, and conclusions. 

Thomdike's experiment. Thorndike's study of 
**The Understanding of Sentences"^ attempts to deter- 
mine the fundamental causes of certain types of loose 
reading. He checked the mistakes made by elementary 
and high-school pupils who read certain paragraphs, 
each of which was accompanied by five or more ques- 
tions which the pupils were to answer. They were in- 
structed to read each paragraph as many times as nec- 
essary in order to enable them to answer the questions 
correctly. The following specimen shows the nature 
of the material, questions, and instructions used in the 
experiment. 

Nearly fifteen thousand of the city's workers joined 
in the parade on September seventh, and passed before 
two hundred thousand cheering spectators. There were 
workers of both sexes in the parade, though the men 
far outnumbered the women. 

1. What is said about the number of persons who 
marched in the parade? 

2. Which sex was in the majority? 

^Thorndike, E. L. "The understanding- of sentences." Elementary 
School Journal, Vol. 18, (October) 1917. 



162 SILENT READING 

3. What did the people who looked at the parade 
do when it passed by? 

4. How many people saw the parade? 

5. On what date did the event described in the 
paragraph occur? 

A careful study of the answers to the first four ques- 
tions showed clearly that the term "fifteen thousand" 
so obsessed pupils that they could think of little else. 

"Over -potent" 

Element Question Response 

1 "passed before 20,000 and 15,000" 

2 "the fifteen thousand" 

"fifteen thousand" 3 "fifteen thousand of the parade" 

4 "fifteen thousand" 

*' Fifteen thousand" is a good example of a word 
being "over-potent" in reading. This same study re- 
ports many interesting illustrations of the under-potency 
of words, and shows that under-potency is unquestion- 
ably the complement of over-potency. 

The significance of this study is best shown by the 
following paragraph taken from the account of it. 

There seems to be a strong tendency in human nature 
to accept as satisfactory whatever ideas arise quickly 
— to trust any course of thought that runs along flu- 
ently. If the question makes the pupil think of anything, 
or if he finds anything in the paragraph that seems to 
belong to the question, he accepts it without criticism. 
. . . This fishing around in the text for something to 
use, and its use without reorganization, is perhaps the 
most debased form of selective thinking which school 
work shows. . . . The extent to which it prevails 
amongst pupils in even the higher grades shows the 
need for practice in reading and study. I am inclined 



REMEDIAL WORK 163 

to think, however, that the cure for it is not to repress 
the verbatim nse of wrong, irrelevant, or roughly appro- 
priated quotations, but to permit it plus careful exami- 
nation of the quotations to see if they really do meet 
the need. . . . The comprehension of textbooks 
. . . (is) far above the level of merely '' passive" or 
"receptive" work. When the reading of textbooks 
. . . is really passive or receptive, comprehension will 
rarely result. . . . "To read" means "to think" as 
truly as does "to evaluate," or "to invent," or "to 
demonstrate," or "to verify." 

It is likely that some of the remedial measures sug- 
gested on preceding pages would not be considered such 
(technically speaking) in some research laboratories. 
We believe, however, that from a pedagogical point of 
view, any disability that hinders the pupil's reading 
achievement should be diagnosed, and that remedial 
measures should then be used. 

We have cited several studies which discuss cases 
typical of classroom conditions, and we have quoted 
verbatim from some of them. That plan was used so 
as to help the busy teacher find the kind of diffi- 
culty discussed, and to give her a definite idea of the 
methods to be used for remedial work. The regular 
classroom teacher's limited time makes the use of an 
elaborate method impossible. She can, however, group 
pupils who experience similar difficulties and so obtain 
more time for drill than when she tries to train pupils 
individually. Suggestions for the handling of such 
groups and plans of various sorts for use in instruc- 
tion will be found in Part 11. 



164 SILENT READING 

SUMMARY 

1. Experiments indicate that there is no general reading 
ability. 

2. We must train children to read different kinds of ma- 
terial. 

3. An experiment on more than 256 children shows that 
pupils are unable to use the dictionary, a table of 
contents, an alphabetical index, or cross references. 

4. The overemphasis of oral reading, phonics, pointing 
to words, and word focus all tend to narrow the child's 
perception-unit. 

5. It is advisable to group pupils of like reading difH- 
culties for specific remedial exercises. 

6. Assimilative reading involves the higher mental proc- 
esses of imagining, evaluating, reasoning, and judging. 

7. Specific training to develop a mental attitude for re- 
flective reading should be given. 

SUGGESTED READINGS 

Brooks, S. S. Improving ScJwols ly Standardized Tests. 
Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1922. 

Carter, R. E. "Teaching a study habit." School Review, 
Vol. 29, (November and December) 1920. 

Gray, W. S. "The use of tests in improving instruction." 
Elementary School Journal, Vol. 19, (October) 1918. 

Martin, Frederick. "Foreign accent." Supplement to the 
Sylladus in English for the Elementary Schools of New 
York City. Department of Education, New York City. 

Schmitt, Clara. "Developmental alexia: Congenital word- 
blindness or inability to learn to read." Elementary 
School Journal, Vol. 18, (May) 1918. 

Sutherland, A. H. "Correcting school disabilities."" Ele- 
mentary School Journal, Vol. 23, (September) 1922. 

Thorndike, E. L. "Reading as reasoning: A study of 
mistakes in paragraph reading." Journal of Educational 
Psychology, Vol. 8, (June) 1917. 



CHAPTER IX 

MEASURING COMPREHENSION AND 
RETENTION 

The importance of these measurements. The in- 
ability of many pupils to comprehend and retain any 
considerable portion of the material they read is shown 
by the data given in Chapters III and IV, The chief 
causes of the low scores „ reported there are the care- 
less, indifferent, and purposeless reading habits of the 
pupils themselves. 

Thorndike says, ''There seems to be a strong tend- 
ency in human nature to accept as satisfactory what- 
ever ideas arise quickly, to trust any course of thought 
that runs along fluently." When reading a paragraph 
in order to find the answer to a question, the pupil 
is often willing to accept without criticism the first 
idea that seems to bear upon the question. This often 
leads to the formation of a habit of superficial reading. 

Breaking bad habits. From a psychological point 
of view, the most economical way to break up a habit 
is to present situations which will produce effects that 
are the direct opposite of it. This being true, an effec- 
tive method of overcoming slothful, careless reading 
habits is by frequently testing the pupil's ability to 

165 



IQQ SILENT READING 

comprehend and recall what he reads. Definite, brief, 
written tests are valuable aids to this work because 
they measure the efficiency of teaching by determining 
the amount of change which education has produced. 
Testing is always good teaching because a child learns 
when he is being tested. The test requires recall, or- 
ganization, and evaluation of facts and experiences. 
It shows how much the pupil has accomplished and 
how well he has achieved, things that he should know. 
That information may be used to increase the pupil's 
efforts and his interest in reading; it may suggest cer- 
tain remedial measures to the teacher. The test helps 
to develop the ability to read closely, an ability which 
is important for pupils in the primary grades, who are 
usually mature enough to comprehend and remember 
the outstanding points in the factual and expository 
material which they read. 

Principles to be observed. The busy classroom 
teacher must be brief and definite when she attempts 
to measure comprehension and retention. Her ques- 
tions must be concise, and they should require definite 
data for answers. The tests should require a maximum 
of thinking and a minimum of writing. The method 
of measuring comprehension employed in some of the 
standardized reading tests should either be adapted or 
adopted outright by teachers who wish to get accurate 
measures quickly. The following examples taken from 
Monroe's Standardized Silent-reading Tests show the 
correct method of handling such work. 



MEASURING COMPREHENSION IQJ . 

A silly young cricket, accustomed to sing 

Through the warm sunny months of gay summer and spring, 

Began to complain, when he found that at home 

His cupboard was empty, and winter had come. 

Draw a line under the word which best describes 

the cricket. 

wise faithful foolish proud prudent 

, "Blow, blow, thou winter wind, 
Thou art not so unkind 
As man's ingratitude; 
Thy tooth is not so keen. 
Because thou art not seen 
Although thy breath be rude." 

In the above paragraph with what is the wind com- 
pared? 

"We have come to dedicate a portion of that field 
as a final resting place for those who here gave their 
lives that the nation might live. But in a larger sense, 
we cannot dedicate this ground. It is for us, the liv- 
ing, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished 
work, to the great task remaining before us." 

The above paragraph is taken from Lincoln's Gettys- 
burg Address. What was it he thought we should 
dedicate? Home, land, lives, money, monument? 

Measuring" comprehension. The demand most fre- 
quently made upon one's reading ability is to read a 
selection with sufficient care to be able to reproduce 
the leading incidents or mention main points from mem- 
ory. That requires an understanding of what one reads, 
and the retention of a considerable portion of it. Most 
tests are combined measurements of the pupil's memory 
and comprehension. 

It is often desirable, however, to isolate and meas- 



leg SILENT READING 

ure only the comprehension ability of pupils, in order 
to ascertain the scope of their ability to comprehend 
rather than remember, to determine the extent to which 
comprehension affects scores made in tests and quizzes, 
to stimulate careful, thoughtful reading and to make 
it a habit, and to learn something about pupils' study 
habits so as to determine the necessary remedial meas- 
ures. The -following lessons are suggestive of methods 
one may use to measure comprehension alone. 

Lesson I 
The Sandpiper 

Across the narrow beach w^e flit, 

One little sandpiper and I ; 
And fast I gather, bit by bit, 

The scattered driftwood, bleached and dry. 

The wild waves reach their hands for it. 
The wild wind raves, the tide runs high, 

As up and down the beach we flit, — 
One little sandpiper and I. 

Above our heads the sullen clouds 
Scud black and swift across the sky; 

Like silent ghosts in misty shrouds 
Stand out the white lighthouses high. 

Almost as far as eye can reach 

I see the close-reefed vessels fly, 
As fast we flit along the beach, — 

One little sandpiper and I. 



MEASURING COMPREHENSION 169 

I watch him as he skims along;, 

Uttering his sweet and mournful cry; 

He starts not at my fitful song, 
Or flash of fluttering drapery. 

He has no thought of any wrong ; 

He scans me with a fearless eye; 
Stanch friends are we, well tried and strong. 

The little sandpiper and I. 

Comrade, where wilt thou be tonight 

When the loosed storm breaks furiously? 

My driftwood fire will burn so bright! 
To what warm shelter canst thou fly? 

I do not fear for thee, though Avroth 
The tempest rushes through the sky; 

For are we not God's children both, 
Thou, little sandpiper, and I? 

This poem describes an incident in the life of the 
author, Celia Thaxter. As is the case with many other 
selections, pupils will appreciate it more if the teach- 
er's assignment gives the setting and includes an ac- 
count of the incidents which occasioned its production. 
There is evident need of a preliminary discussion, if 
only to clarify the child's conception of life in a light- 
house on a barren island. 

Immediately after the pupils have read the poem 
through once, either during the study period or in class, 
the teacher should present the questions given below. 
Pupils should quietly and quickly write their answers 



170 SILENT READING 

to the questions; they should refer to the selection as 
often as necessary. The pupils should grade the papers 
under the teacher 's supervision. When all have finished, 
one pupil should read the first question and the answer 
as those appear on his own paper or the one he is grad- 
ing. In case of disagreement as to the correctness of 
the answer, refer the pupils to the textbook. This 
method shows children that reading must be an active, 
observing, thinking process. 

Questions hased on ^'Tlie Sandpiper'^ 

1. Two words tell the kind of wood the girl gath- 
ered and the place where she found it. Write 
the words. 

2. What were the ghosts? 

3. What else might have gathered the wood? 

4. Why were the vessels close-reefed? 

5. What line tells whether the bird was flying 
high or low? 

6. Check the two stanzas w^hich you think indi- 
cate the kind of night it will be. 

7. What two words show best the depth of friend- 
ship between the girl and bird? 

8. What was the '' fluttering drapery?" 

9. What stanza tells that the girl is worried about 
the sandpiper's welfare? 

10. What consoled her? 

Lesson II 
This lesson should be based on Robin Hood, th& 
Archer Hero} In using it the teacher should follow 

^See the footnote on page 282. 



MEASURING COMPREHENSION 171 

a procedure similar to that suggested for use with 
Lesson I. 

Questions based on ^^Rohm HoocV^ 

1. "Was Eobin Hood or the foresters most to blame 
in the deer-killing incident which led Eobin 
to become an outlaw? 

2. Why was Little John so named? 

3. Why did the sheriff hold a shooting match? 

4. In what three ways did Robin Hood disguise 
himself so that the sheriff might not know 
him? 

5. What is the point of highest excitement in the 
chapter ? 

6. Select the most witty line in the chapter. 

The teacher may use the two sets of questions given 
for definitely measuring the pupils' ability to compre- 
hend the selections on which they are based. She may 
also use them to direct the pupils' reading during the 
study period. Since they require brief, definite ansvv^ers 
they are easily graded. 

How TO Measure Comprehension and Retention 
Reproduction. The reproduction method consists 
in having the pupils reproduce as much of a selection 
as they can after reading one or two minutes. For- 
merly this method was very popular as a means of 
measuring comprehension and retention. Recently it has 
become less so. A recent criticism of the method is as 
follows. 

The scoring of the reproduction is based on the num- 



172 SILENT READING 

ber of ideas reproduced. In correcting the material 
it is very difficult at times to determine whether the 
idea had been reproduced by the pupil or not. In 
many other instances, it is perfectly clear that instead 
of reproducing the paragraph which he has just read, 
the pupil brings into the reproduction many ideas based 
upon his experience. 
Gist says of this test : 

Many pupils can give from memory what they have 
read without being able to answer questions based upon 
the thought. Questions directed so as to bring out the 
thought seem to secure better results than asking the 
pupils to tell what they have read.^ 

It is generally conceded that the use of the repro- 
duction method tends to cause one to mistake fluency 
of expression for detailed knowledge. Many teachers 
believe that it tests memory rather than comprehen- 
sion. Moreover, the task of correcting the results is 
such a heavy one that that feature alone deters many 
from using it. 

Completion tests. Some form of completion test 
is held in high favor by several experimenters. The 
following examples are taken from Starch's Geography 
Test: Series A. 

1. The tropics are degrees on each side of 

the equator. 

2. About of the earth's surface is land, 

and is water. 

3. is melted rock coming from a volcano. 

^Gist, Arthur S. "Silent reading." Elementary School Journal, 
Vol. 18, (September) 1917. 



MEASURING COMPREHENSION 173 

Teachers who use the completion test usually place 
the statements on the blackboard and require the pupils 
to write only the words needed to fill the blanks. Such 
tests can be given quickly, and the scores can be read- 
ily determined. If the test is skillfully constructed, 
the teacher has a fairly accurate measure of the pupils' 
ability to comprehend and retain the ideas read. This 
test practically eliminates the verbosity which pupils 
sometimes indulge in. 

Recognition tests. This test is based on the assump- 
tion that one often comprehends what he reads but 
is unable to recall much of it when tested by the ordi- 
nary oral or written quiz. One may, however, be able 
to recognize the truths or facts included in the matter 
read when those appear in conjunction with other data. 
The following is an example of the recognition test. 

1. Boston is the capital of Maine, Massachusetts, 
Rhode Island, New York. 

2. The most southern state in the United States 
is New Mexico, Texas, Oregon, Florida. 

3. The corn belt is in the Western States, the 
New England States, the Southern States, the 
Central States. 

Whether this test is given orally or written on the 
blackboard, the pupil is to write down only the cor- 
rect words. This test forms a part of several standard 
measurements of general intelligence. Little time is 
necessary to give the test and to score the results. The 
error which might come from the operation of the law 



174 SILENT READING 

of chance is largely cared for in that there are four 
possible answers to each question. 

The question method. The type of test which most 
teachers use and will likely continue to use is some form 
of direct question. However, the other tests described 
Ought to be employed to supplement this direct-ques- 
tion method, because a more accurate measure of the 
pupil's reading ability is assured when several tests 
are used. A variety of tests also relieves both pupils 
and teachers of the monotony of testing. Brevity and 
definiteness should be the criteria of every direct-ques- 
tion test. The studies reported on the following pages 
suggest types of questions that may be used as meas- 
ures of comprehension and recall. 

Miss Waldman reports^ an experiment in which she 
succeeded in increasing the reading comprehension abil- 
ity of a fourth-grade class. The following questions 
and answers are typical of the means she used to de- 
termine comprehension. She selected the material from 
the story^ of ''Davy and the Goblins." The pupils 
read the selection expecting to be tested for a knowl- 
edge of its content. 

Questions hased on ^'Davy and the Gohlins'' 

1. Who said, "Oh, if you please, I can't go"? 

2. Who said, ''Eubbish! Ask the colonel"? 

^Waldman, Bessie." "Definite improvement of reading ability 
in a fourth-grade class." El&nientary School Jonrnah Vol. 21, 
(December) 1920. 

^This selection appears in the Riverside Fourth Reader pub- 
lished by Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. 



MEASURING COMPREHENSION 175 

3. Who was a silly looking little man made of 
lead? 

4. Where did he stand? 

5. What did he hold in his arms? 

6. Who felt quite safe in looking np at him and 
asking permission to go on the Believing 
Voyage ? 

7. Who nodded his head and cried out in a little 
cracked voice, ''Why certainly"? 

8. Who jumped down off the knab of the andiron ? 

9. AVhat fell over on its face upon the floor, as 
softly as if it had been a feather bed? 

10. What was really a sort of boat? 

Correct Answers 

1. Davy 6. Davy 

2. Gobiin 7. Colonel 

3. Colonel 8. Goblin 

4. Mantelshelf 9. Clock 

5. Clock 10. Clock 

Many teachers have little faith in the so-called ''mem- 
ory" or "information" question. They believe that 
the teacher's questions and the textbooks should stimu- 
late inference, deduction, and judgment. The popu- 
larity of the problem-project method of teaching and 
of the modern textbooks which are based on that method 
indicate that the attitude is at present common among 
educators. This is the sign of a wholesome educational 
tendency. 

But can there be constructive thinking without some- 
thing to think about? Are not the facts of the case 



176 SILENT READING 

as necessary outside the court as within it, if justice 
is to prevail? Is it not possible that we may have 
overworked the case against memorizing and memory 
work, rote memory excepted? 

Buckingham^ tested 159 eighth-grade pupils with two 
types of history questions, the memory or information 
type, and the reasoning or judgment type. His con- 
clusions stated in the following paragraph, based on 
data derived from the experiment, should challenge all 
contrary and merely opinionated statements. 

The steps we have taken may, therefore, be sum- 
marized as follows: 159 eighth-grade children have been 
tested in a series of information (memory) questions, 
and likewise in a series of thought questions, and the 
relationship between their achievements in these two 
series of questions permits us to conclude that a test 
of the memory ability of school children in history 
affords a reasonably accurate index not only of mem- 
ory ability itself, but also of ability to think. Wher- 
ever it is practicable to do so, however, children should 
be tested directly on thought questions, that is, on ques- 
tions of inference and questions requiring reasoning 
and a juderment of values. Ordinarily, however, test- 
ing is carried out with larger numbers of children, and 
the answers have to be handled quickly. In such a 
case, the ease with which an information (memory) 
test may be administered and rated is a decided advan- 
tage ; and it is some satisfaction to know that, from 
the results, reasonably accurate inferences may be drawn 
regarding types of ability other than those directly 
tested. 

^Buckingham, R, B. "Correlation between ability to think and 
ability to remember, with special reference to United States 
history." School and Society^ Vol. 5, (April) 1917. 



MEASURING COMPREHENSION 177 

The following questions are taken from Buckingham's 
study. 

History: Thought Questions: Series A 

Eead each quotation and then answer the ques- 
tion below it. 

"We, the people of the United States, in order to 
form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure 
domestic tranquillity ..." 

Explain what is meant by the words *'in order 
to form a more perfect union." 

"In 1790, ninety per cent of the people of the United 
States lived on farms. At the present time only thirty 
per cent of the people live in the country." 

How can you account for the change suggested 
by these facts? 

History: Information (Memory): Series A 

1. Who were the Copperheads? 

2. Who discovered the Mississippi River? 

3. What event started the colonization of Colo- 
rado? 

4. Give the principal reason advanced by the 
French for claiming the Mississippi Valley 
in 1754. 

Acting upon a suggestion in Buckingham's investiga- 
tion, MendenhalP made a study in which he attempted 
to find the relationship that exists between knowing 
something about a subject when a minimum time is 
allowed for preparing the report, and knowing much 
more about the same subject when a maximum time is 

^Mendenhall, W. "L. "Relative values of short and long- tests." 
(An unpublished study prepared at Des Moines University in 1922.) 



l^jQ SILENT READING 

allowed. He assigned two chapters dealing with the 
problem of discipline to seventy-one freshmen and soph- 
omore students in a normal-training class. The follow- 
ing day he gave the two following questions as sub- 
jects for a written quiz. 

1. Name five causes of bad discipline. 

2. Name five remedies for bad discipline. 

He allowed only three minutes for answering both 
questions. Following that the students were told to 
use fifty minutes for preparing a written discussion of 
the causes and remedies which they had named during 
the three-minute test. Every student but one could 
discuss the causes he had named. The discussions 
ranged from fair to excellent. Those who could name 
the most causes in the shorter period could explain 
the most in the longer period. The data obtained by 
Mendenhall lead one to conclude that the short mem- 
ory test based on factual material is a fairly reliable 
measure of a pupil's ability. 

The true-false test. This test is now coming into 
favor among teachers. The method used in some of 
the standardized measurements is applied to the teacher- 
made or informal test. The following account of one 
of these tests shows its nature. 

The teacher asked a sixth-grade geography class to 
read an assignment on New England. She then ex- 
plained that she would read a list of twenty statements 
based on the assignment, and that of those statements 
some were true, others false. If the pupil considered 



MEASURING COMPREHENSION ^79 

a statement true he was to make a plus sign, if he 
thought it false he was to make a minus sign. The 
teacher read the statements at the rate of one every 
thirty seconds. 

1. The New England States comprise an area 
greater than that of the Southern States. 

2. Montpelier is the capital of Maine. 

3. Most of the rivers flow north and east. 

4. Fishing is an important industry. 

5. The largest state is Massachusetts. 

6. New England has many thriving cities. 

7. The surface is for the most part rough and 
broken. 

8. Harvard University is located in New Haven. 

9. The people of New England are noted for 
their intelligence, enterprise, and industry. 

10. Champlain is the largest river. 

11. The chief exports are cotton, wool, iron, coal, 
and articles of food. 

12. Boston, the metropolis, has an excellent 
harbor. 

13. Little attention is paid to lumbering and ship- 
building. 

14. Cotton, woolen goods, and machinery are 
among the chief manufactured articles. 

15. The "White Mountains are in Vermont. 

16. Lowell, Lawrence, and Fall River are noted 
for cotton manufacturing. 

17. Newport, on the Connecticut River, has a 
United States arsenal where rifles and other 
arms are made, 

18. There are six states in the New England 

group. 



280 SILENT READING 

19. The leading exports are lumber, ice, granite, 
marble, and all kinds of manufactured goods. 

20. New England is well fitted for manufacturing, 
on account of the great abundance of water 
power afforded by its rapid streams. 

This test was given, scored, and the results recorded 
in approximately fifteen minutes. Each pupil's final 
score consisted of the number of correct answers minus 
the number of wrong ones. A pupil who answered 
eighteen questions correctly and two incorrectly scored 
16 points or 80 per cent. 

The method of scoring'. The following explanation 
should make clear why a pupil's score is expressed in 
terms of the number of correct answers minus the num- 
ber of incorrect. Let us imagine a pupil with no knowl- 
edge of New England whatever. "Were he to take the 
test outlined above, answering every question in some 
way, he would, according to the theory of chance, an- 
swer ten questions correctly, ten incorrectly. The 
chances of his guessing right and wrong answers are 
equal. According to the method of computation used, 
such a pupil's score on this test would be 10 — 10 = 0. 
Such a score properly represents that pupil's complete 
lack of knowledge. Suppose, now, that the pupil knows 
the correct answers to ten of the questions, but that 
he guesses the answers to the other ten. Of the latter, 
according to the theory of chance, he would answer 
five correctly and five incorrectly. Even though his 
actual knowledge enables him to answer only ten ques- 



MEASURING COMPREHENSION Igl 

tions correctly, lie will have fifteen correct answers and 
five incorrect. The method of computing his score 
reveals his actual knowledge : 15 — 5 = 10. The pupil 
who answers every question correctly has a score of 
20 because according to this method of computation 
20 — = 20. 

It is difficult for some to believe that such a test 
does other than give the highest score to the luckiest 
guesser. They look suspiciously upon this thing called 
"chance." Regarding this McCall says: 

Being in a position which offered excellent oppor- 
tunity, namely, treasurer of a Sunday school, we once 
tossed pennies for heads or tails fifty thousand times. 
The results came out 25,000 heads and 24,999 tails. 
Had there not been a miscount somewhere, the two 
would doubtless have come out exactly even. We had 
occasion to watch two summer-school teachers engage 
in that soul-absorbing, nerve-racking game of chance 
called "matching pennies." Each began the summer 
with a special bag of one hundred pennies. They 
matched for several minutes daily. The last we heard 
they were still matching pennies and chance had pre- 
vented either from getting complete possession of the 
other's one hundred pennies. Chance is fatally exact 
when the pennies or the statements in the test are 
numerous. The opportunities for injustice in scores 
multiply in proportion as the number of statements is 
reduced. Hence there should be as many ^ statements 
in the test as practical limitations will permit,^ 

Teacher-made true-false tests. The following sug- 
gestions may help teachers who wish to use the true- 

iMcCall. W. A. "A new kind of school examination." Journal 
of Educational Research, Vol. 1, (January) 1920. 



3^32 SILENT READING 

false test either as a check upon the reading ability 
of the pupils over some definite assignment or for a 
formal examination on a certain piece of work. Con- 
struct the test so that it will contain approximately 
the same number of true and false statements. Vary 
from this occasionally lest some clever pupil count back 
to see how many more true statements have been marked 
than false. Let chance (the tossing of a penny) deter- 
mine how many statements shall be true and how many 
false, and in what order the true and the false shall 
come. Unless one resorts to some such device, one's 
arrangement each time is likely to be practically the 
same. See that the statements are free from ambiguity. 
Do not ordinarily make leading statements which will 
suggest wrong answers. The true-false test may not 
be as diagnostic as the conventional long essay type. 
As it does not show how the^ pupil 's thinking process 
went astray on a problem, it is well to supplement it 
with a more detailed test. 

Gates' experiment.^ Gates has recently determined 
the reliability of the true-false tests by extensive experi- 
menting. He compared the scores made by students 
who took these tests with those made by the same stu- 
dents when they took three other types of test, (1) a 
one-hour and two-hour mid-term and final written ex- 
amination, (2) written home work consisting of essays 
on special topics, (3) the Army Alplia Test or the 
Thorndike Intelligence Test. He made comparisons not 

^Gates, Arthur I. "Reliability of the true-false test." Journal 
of Educational Psychology, Vol. 12, (June) 1921. 



MEASURING- COMPREHENSION 183 

once but often. He found that when a number of 
true-false tests were given the student's rank re- 
mained practically the same throughout the series. 
This was not true of the ranks determined by the 
ATritten examinations. He also found that scores made 
by students who took a series of true-false tests 
showed less variation than y/hen they took a series of 
any other kind of tests. 

Advantages of th© true-false test. Those who have 
given these tests, and those who have taken them, agree 
that their use saves teachers much time. They dispense 
with the task of correction, because each pupil scores 
his own paper. This self-correction feature also makes 
the test a valuable instructional device. True-false tests 
enable teachers to develop standards of achievement 
by means of which the work of one class may be com- 
pared with that of another. They also enable one to 
test over a field of material wider than one can 
cover when the conventional examinations are used. 
They furnish more refined units of measurement than 
the usual type of examination gives, because the distri- 
bution is wider. Students report that these tests re- 
quire them to use more effective methods of study, to 
understand and apply facts, not merely to commit to 
memory for purposes of later reproduction. It has been 
determined by actual count that at least 90 per cent 
of students prefer this type of test, because it gives 
them the results of their examination as soon as the 
test is concluded and so relieves them of the suspense 



134 SILENT READING 

caused by waiting for papers to be marked. Students 
say that after the initial adjustment they usually feel 
less nervous during the examination, and that the true- 
false test is less exhausting because it causes little if 
any eyestrain and no worry about one's ability to com- 
plete the examination within the prescribed time limit. 
In addition to its value as a test, the true-false exam- 
ination is an excellent teaching instrument. The im- 
mediate correction of answers clears up haziness, mis- 
understanding, and ignorance of facts, and at the same 
time clearly shows principles. 

SUMMARY 

1. Careful testing to determine pupils' ability to compre- 
hend, should be a part of educational practice. 

2. By means of tests, pupils and teachers are enabled to 
determine with what thoroughness the reading is done. 

3. Tests aid in the formation of purposeful reading 
habits. 

4. Well-organized, informational material such as is found 
in textbooks of geography, history, hygiene, nature 
study, and arithmetic is suitable for testing purposes. 

5. Poetry and other literature adapted for appreciative 
reading should not be used as a basis for thorough 
comprehension tests. 

6. Brevity and directness should characterize the teacher- 
made test. The methods employed in the making of 
the standardized tests may be profitably followed. 

SUGGESTED READINGS 

Brooks, S. S. Improving Schools hy Standardized Tests. 
Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1922. 

Gray, W. S. "Value of informal tests of reading accom- 
plishment." Journal of Educational Research, Vol. 1, 
(February) 1920. 



MEASURING COMPREHENSION 185 

Kallom, A. W. "Reproduction as a measure of reading 
ability." Journal of Educational Research, Vol. 1, (May) 
1920. 

Knight, P. B. "Data on the true-false tests as a device 
for college examination." Journal of Educational Psy- 
cTiologii, Vol. 13, (February) 1922. 

Lyman, R. L. "The teaching of assimilative reading in the 
junior high school." School Review, Vol. 27, (October) 
1921. 

Monroe, W. S. Measuring the Results of Teaching. (Chap- 
ters 2 and 3.) Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1918. 

Pressey, L. C. and S. L. "A critical study of the concept 
of silent-reading ability." Journal of Educational Psy- 
chology, Vol. 12, (January) 1921. 

Terman, Dixon, Sutherland, Franzen, Tupper, and Fernald. 
Intelligence Tests and ScJiool Reorganization. World 
Book Company, Yonkers, New York, 1922. 



CHAPTER X 

MATEEIAL FOR SILENT-READINa PURPOSES 

Various kinds of material necessary. If we are to 

develop the children's silent-reading ability to the ut- 
most , we must give them much practice in reading vari- 
ous kinds of material. We must no longer believe that 
one book contains all that a child should read in a 
year. We must give him access to an abundance of 
material which is within the range of his interests and 
comprehension. In this chapter we shall discuss the 
essentials of satisfactory reading material and suggest 
where the teacher may obtain it. 

Investigations have proven that children need differ- 
ent kinds of reading material if they are to obtain 
the best results from their work in reading, because 
the ability to assimilate what one reads depends to a 
large extent on the nature of the subject-matter. There 
are as many different silent-reading abilities as there 
are different kinds of reading material. 

Presseys' experiment.^ The Presseys have shown 
by experiment that there is no general silent-reading 
ability, that one who reads one kind of material well 

iPressey, L. C. and S. L. "A critical study of the concept 
of silent-reading ability." Journal of Educational Psychology, 
Vol. 12, (January) 1921. 

186 



SILENT-READING MATERIAL 187 

may read another kind poorly, and that the ability 
to read well silently depends very largely upon the 
nature of the passage read. The material which they 
used in an experiment conducted with 112 seventh-grade 
pupils consisted of four reading scales, each composed 
of a particular kind of reading material. For the most 
part the exercises were taken from the Monroe Beading 
Scale and from the Illinois Examination.. One scale 
consisted entirely of poetry, another of passages of scien- 
tific subject-matter, and the other two were composed 
of selections taken from stories and general reading 
matter. The latter are known in this experiment as 
''General I" and ''General II." The coefficients of 
correlation^ of all possible combinations based on the 
four scales were as follows : 

Coefficient 

OF 

Scales - Correlation 

Poetry with General 1 38 

General I with General II 85 

General II with Poetry 31 

General I with Scientific 35 

General II with Scientific 49 

Scientific with Poetry .56 

The following specimens show the kind of material 
included in each of the four scales used in this experi- 
ment. 

^A perfect correlation (relationship) between the scores made 
when reading any two types of reading- material is indicated 
by a score of 1.00. If, when reading one of the selections in- 
cluded in this experiment, for example, "Scientific," the rank 
of the pupils had been 1, 2. 3, etc., and if the rank had been 
the same when they read another selection, for example, "Poetry," 
then the correlation between the two types would have been 
perfect, and consequently represented by a score of 1.00, 



1S8 SILENT READING 

Poetry 

Oh suns, and skies, and clouds of June, 
And flowers of June together, 
You cannot rival for one hour 
October's bright blue weather. 

Which month does the stanza say is the most 
pleasant ? 
April September May June October 

General I 

The caravan, stretched out upon the desert, was very- 
picturesque; in motion, however, it was like a lazy 
serpent. By and by, its stubborn dragging became 
intolerably irksome to Balthasar, patient as he w^as. 

Place a line under the word which tells in what 
respect the caravan resembled a serpent. 

temper color length motion size 

General II 

It was the garden-land of Antioch. Even the hedges, 
besides the lure of the shade, offered passers-by sweet 
promises of wine and clusters of purple grapes. Over 
melon patches and through apricot and fig groves and 
groves of oranges and limes, the whitewashed houses 
of the farmers were seen. 

What kind of land was this ? Draw a line under 
the correct answer. 

barren hilly productive infertile desert 

Scientific 

The tighter the wire is stretched, the higher will 
be the tone produced when the wire is struck. Five 
wires were stretched with weights on the ends of 
them. One weight is 100 pounds, one is 75 pounds, 
one is 25 pounds, one is 20 pounds, and one is 15 
pounds. 



SILENT-READING MATERIAL 189 

Underline the number of pounds in the weight 
which will cause the highest tone. 

100 75 25 20 15 

Zirbes' report. This investigator says: ''There are 
many silent-reading abilities ; training to be economical 
must be special. Psychological analyses of the abilities 
involved in the reading curriculum must be made to 
the end that the technique employed, and practice upon 
desirable content, may be placed upon a scientific basis.^ 

Wilson's experiment.^ Shortly after the above quo- 
tation appeared, Estaline Wilson reported an elaborate 
experiment which confirms Zirbes' contention. In a 
later study, mentioned in Chapter XV, she has defi- 
nitely pointed out the particular method to be employed 
in teaching pupils to read arithmetic problems more 
effectively. 

The experiment reported below included pupils from 
grades five to eleven. Six different types of material 
were used — arithmetic, civics, grammar, geography, 
poetry, and narrative. The method employed, the data 
gathered, and the conclusions drawn in this experiment 
are suggestive enough to warrant the following rather 
detailed report. 

Teachers find that pupils who read selections from 
their readers very well do not show the same ability 
when they try to read their textbooks of geography 

iZirbes, Laura. "What are the situations in which reading 
functions?" Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol. 12, (March) 
1921. 

^Wilson, Estaline. "Specific teaching- of silent reading-." Ele- 
mentary School Journal, Vol. 22, (October) 1921. 



190 SILENT READING 

and arithmetic. The variation appears in the scores 
made by pupils measured by different standard read- 
ing tests. The explanation which suggests itself for 
these facts is that reading abilities vary according to 
the types of material with which the pupil deals. Abil- 
ity to read literary selections seems to differ from ability 
understandingly to read problems in arithmetic; ability 
to read geography differs from ability to read poetry. 

In order to test the validity of the explanation sug- 
gested, a number of Cincinnati teachers gave their pupils 
a series of tests which included different kinds of ma- 
terial — arithmetic, geography, civics, grammar, narra- 
tion, and poetry. In so far as possible this material 
was selected from books designed for use in the same 
grade. No test contained vocabulary difficulties. The 
material, followed by questions, was printed on single 
sheets with questions below. The questions were such 
as the average teacher would ask to test the compre- 
hension of similar reading material in an ordinary class 
assignment. The answers to some merely required the 
selection of facts; other answers required judgment. 
Instructions were printed at the top of each test. The 
pupils were told what the material contained. ** These 
paragraphs tell you how hair nets are made.'' ''These 
problems tell the story of a family who took an auto- 
mobile trip." ''You may read as often as necessary 
to answer the questions. Work as rapidly as you can." 

The teacher -made no attempt to control the time, 
as the only element to be measured was the pupils' 



SILENT-READING MATERIAL 191 

ability to comprehend various kinds of subject-matter* 
The tests were given at the same period on successive 
days; in both instances conditions were as nearly uni- 
form as possible. The following specimens show the 
types of material used. 

TSST IX READING ARITHMETIC MATERIAL 

The following problems tell the story of a family 
that took an automobile trip. You are to read the 
problems and answer the questions printed below, but 
you are not to work any of the problems. You may 
read them as often as is necessary to answer the 
questions. Work as rapidly as you can, and number 
your answers just as the questions are numbered. 

1. The Brown family took a two week's trip in their 
automobile. They went 975.6 miles in all. They 
did not ride on Sundays. How far did they go 
per day on the days that they did ride? 

2. It cost $21.32 for gasoline, $2.80 for oil, and $4.75 
for repairs. Mr. Brown estimates the wear and 
tear on automobile and tires at 3i/4 cents per mile. 
Using this estimate, what was the total cost of 
running the car on the trip? 

3. They spent twelve nights and had twelve break- 
fasts at farm houses or small hotels. Twice they 
paid $1.75 for lodging and breakfast for the fam- 
ily. Five times they paid $2.00. Four times 
they paid $2.50. Once they paid $3.50. What 
was the total cost for lodging and breakfast? 

4. They bought food at stores and bakeries for their 
noon and evening. meals, s-pending $17.57 in all for 
the fourteen days. (a) How much did their 
noon and evening meals cost per day? (6) They 
expected to spend $1.40 per day. How much less 
did they spend per day than they expected? 

Questions 

1. How many days were the Brown family using their 
automobile while on their trip? 



192 SILENT READING 

2. What different things did Mr. Brown consider in 

figuring the cost of running the car? 

3. In what different places did they get something to 

eat? 

4. For how many days did they need to buy food? 

5. How many different prices are given as costs of 

breakfast and lodging? 

6. Why could yon not find what the cost was for each 

member of the Brown family? 

TEST IlSr READING NARRATIVE MATERIAL 

The following story tells you about an automobile 
accident. You may read it as often as is necessary 
to answer the questions. Work as rapidly as possible 
and number your answers as the questions are num- 
bered. 

Not long ago some of the people in our neighborhood 
had a picnic over on Deer Creek. Soon after we ar- 
rived at the picnic grounds it was discovered that some- 
one had forgotten the watermelons, and Nick Lathrop 
at once volunteered to go back to town after them; 
he is a good fellow and no one can help liking him. 
So away he went, and the last we saw of him he 
was going so fast everybody thought he would be back 
in ten minutes. 

The women began getting supper ready, and when 
Nick didn't come back in half an hour we all began 
worrying, particularly his wife, who was always ex- 
pecting something to happen. Eddie Batty and Walt 
Bell went out to see what the trouble was. 

This is what had happened: Nick was rushing along 
after the watermelons, and hurrying, as supper was 
late anyway. Suddenly, ahead of him, in the dark, 
loomed up a red light. Nothing makes Nick Lathrop 
so impatient as a car ahead of him, and when he saw 
the red light he thought it was the tail light of a 
car, and made a dash to go around it. The red light 
turned out to be a lantern to give warning that a 
bridge was out. Nick went into the creek at sixty 
miles an hour, and when Eddie Batty and Walt Bell 
brought him back he was a sight. 



SILENT-READING MATERIAL 



193 



Questions 

1. Where were these people when this story happened? 

2. What was Nick going after? 

3. How long did the crowd think it would take Nick 

to go to town and back? 

4. Why was his wife worried? 

5. What bad automobile habit did Nick Lathrop have? 

6. What fooled him? 

7. Do you think he was lucky or unlucky? 

8. Give the reason for your answer to the last question. 

Results of Wilson's test. The scores shown below 
were made by the pupils of two schools. They are 
representative of the results obtained on five types of 
reading material. 

Arithmetic Grammar Gbographt Poetry Narrativb 



WiNTOisr Place 






Grade V 






Number tested 43 


43 


43 


Class median 66i 


100 


80 


Range 0-100 


661-100 


30-100 


North Fairmount 






Grade VII 






Number tested 28 


28 


28 


Class median 75 


100 


90 


Range 41-91 


331-100 


50-100 



43 




43 


661 




871 


00 


381- 


-100 


28 




28 


83 




871 



331-100 50-100 

The above figures show in general the variation in 
the ability to comprehend, due to the change in sub- 
ject-matter. The scores uniformly indicate that the 
reading of arithmetic was poor and that the reading 
of the informational and narrative material was bet- 
ter. The greatest range of ability appears in the scores 
based on the grammar and arithmetic material, but there 



194 SILENT READING 

were striking cases of variation in the scores made by 
certain pupils when reading other material. 

Causes of variation in scores. The variation in 
scores is doubtless due to lack of definite training which 
makes the reading of arithmetic as easy as the read- 
ing of narrative material. Failure to answer the ques- 
tions based on the arithmetic material was not due to 
a demand for calculation or arithmetical reasoning, be- 
cause the questions in this test were merely factual. 
The sixth question was the only one that required a 
knowledge of an arithmetical principle. As individuals, 
pupils answered this question more often than they an- 
swered others. 

Practice in reading informational and narrative ma- 
terial may account for the scores made on those tests. 
Pupils generally are trained to read material of this 
kind and to answer questions based on it. Even poetry, 
with its obscure sentence structure and less familiar 
vocabulary, presents fewer difficulties than arithmetic, 
because modem textbooks and teachers have developed 
a method of getting at its meaning. 

The relative difficulty of different kinds of subject- 
matter at once becomes a question. Obviously the vari- 
ous selections are not equally difficult, but this is prob- 
ably because of the lack of definite training in the for- 
mation of reading habits It remains to develop meth- 
ods of teaching reading suitable to various kinds of 
material, before any conclusive weighting of sentences 
can be made. 



SILENT-READING MATERIAL 195 

Types of material. Since the aim of silent reading 
is not merely to make the pupils proficient in word 
recognition, but also to develop the ability to get the 
gist of an article quickly and efficiently, the exercises 
and material must be of such character as to call forth 
efforts that will produce the desired results. The les- 
son must be attractively written in choice English, and 
the subject-matter must be within the range of chil- 
dren's interests and comprehension. 

The aim of any exercise largely determines the type 
of material that should be used. For example, the story 
can be used effectively for speed drills, provided it is 
long enough to tax the speediest reader to his utmost 
within the time limit. The merit of the story as read- 
ing material lies in the fact that the child is anxious 
to see how it ends, and consequently reads rapidly; 
interest in the tale insures comprehension. 

Highly factual, well-organized subject-matter is ex- 
cellent for drill in comprehension and organization. Ex- 
position and detailed description are also satisfactory. 
Directions for class projects are very valuable, because 
the pupil must read purposefully and understandingly 
in order to participate in the project. Reading material 
for drill purposes should seldom be presented in sum- 
mary form, because it deprives the pupils of excellent 
practice in organizing and summarizing material. 

Sources of material. As has been said, no one type 
of material is adequate for teaching silent reading. The 
greater the supply of kinds of subject-matter, the bet- 



296 SILENT READING 

ter it is for both teacher and pupil. There are at least 
four reliable sources of reading material which are avail- 
able to every teacher : The various school readers, text- 
books, library books, pamphlets or bulletins. The re- 
spective merits of these are discussed on the following 
pages. 

The school reader. Unfortunately too many teach- 
ers use only one book — the regular school reader. Much 
of the content of the readers is good, but no one book 
contains sufficient material for a year's work. The class 
reader is not made for silent-reading purposes alone, 
but for oral reading as well. The subject-matter of 
readers is chiefly of value in developing a love for read- 
ing and for purposes of speed exercises. If pupils are 
given a time limit in which to read^ an interesting 
story, their desire to finish it will cause rapid reading. 
Much practice of this sort will habituate long, rhyth- 
mical eye-sweeps, few regressive movements, and fixa- 
tion-points of short duration, thus aiding in rapid read- 
ing. Stories should be read again and again, because 
wider perception-units are possible when familiar ma- 
terial is used. Knowing the content, the pupils are 
able to guess ahead or read *'out of the tail of the 
eye." 

One danger of using the reader for silent reading is 
that overzealous teachers tend to believe that they must 
thoroughly test the pupils' comprehension of every 
story and poem. Teachers must remember that the ma- 
terial in the ordinary reader is largely narrative prose 



SILENT-READING MATERIAL 197 

and poetry, which was selected primarily to cultivate 
appreciation. Generally, it needs no detailed analysis. 
The fact that children read it and enjoy it is assurance 
that they comprehend it. 

For example, the pupils may be asked to read the 
story, ^'The Boy Who Cried 'Wolf'," so that they can 
dramatize it for another group. This stimulates the 
reading and necessitates their knowing that the boy 
was herding sheep in a lonely spot near the home of 
wild animals, that he became tired and thought he would 
have some fun, and so played a trick on the men work- 
ing in the field. It is little short of criminal, however, 
to test the pupil's understanding of it by asking such 
questions as: What did the boy do? Where did he 
tend the sheep? What is a forest? Was it a dark 
forest? How many men worked in the field? Where 
was the field? 

The teacher should, however, ask some questions even 
about this story. They need not be detailed as to time, 
place, manner, etc., but they should be such as will test 
the pupil's interpretation of the entire selection. The 
aim is to help pupils acquire the habit of judging and 
evaluating when they read. Questions that require in- 
terpretation and furnish a basis for discussion help 
children to do that. A teacher is justified in asking 
the following question about the above-mentioned story : 
''Do you feel sorry for the boy? Why?" Whether 
the children's answer is negative or positive, there is 
still room for much argument. Out of the discussion 



19S SILENT READING 

will come a true interpretation of the story. Stories 
should be read in order to give children something to 
appreciate. To subject a child to a detailed question- 
ing, either before or after he has read the story, robs 
him of much of the joy of it and defeats the aim of 
reading. 

Who of us cannot recall an overconscientious teacher 
who practically destroyed the charm of a fascinating 
tale by attempting to discover whether or not we under- 
stood the meaning of every word, and whether we were 
getting the full connotation from each sentence? Such 
interesting material is of great value, but it should not 
be misused. 

Library books. The library is a valuable source 
of supply for material for silent reading; students 
should be urged to use it freely. Story-books, fairy 
tales, and myths contain material that always appeals 
to pupils. Allowing students to read stories to drama- 
tize or act in pantomime before the rest of the class 
assures comprehension ; their desire to find out how the 
story ends conduces to rapid reading. Lists of books 
suitable for such work are given in the Appendix (pages 
357-381). 

Textbooks. A special series of readers to be used 
for silent reading is unnecessary. Silent reading can 
be based on any good readers; the subject-matter in 
the regular textbooks of geography, history, and hygiene 
furnishes excellent material, which is suitable for com- 
prehension exercises because it is factual, detailed, and 



SILENT-READING MATERIAL 199 

usually well org-anized. Various specimen lessons show- 
ing how to use such material are presented in the fol- 
lowing chapters. 

The use of geography and history texts for silent 
reading answers the objection of the teacher who claims 
that her already overcrowded schedule allows no time 
for silent reading as such. Naturally, she feels that with 
so many classes it is impossible to allow each grade even 
ten minutes per day for drill in silent reading or meth- 
ods of study. However, since silent-reading exercises 
may be conducted in conjunction with the lesson in geog- 
raphy, history, or hygiene, the time difficulty is removed. 

Very effective drill in speed and comprehension is 
obtained by using the last five or ten minutes of the 
recitation period to have pupils read the text assign- 
ment under time pressure, then subjecting them to a 
test on the leading points. The few minutes thus spent 
help to form habits of rapid and purposeful reading. 
The test also gives pupils a start on the mastery of 
the next day's assignment, because it indicates what 
important point they failed to grasp during their first 
rapid reading. 

Pamphlets. Unfortunately, many libraries contain 
but few books, and those poor ones. This compels the 
teacher to look elsewhere for material to use in silent- 
reading classes. Her problem is to obtain vital, well- 
written reading matter that is suitable for the various 
grades, at minimum cost and in quantities that will 
enable her to supply an entire class. 



200 SILENT READING 

The situation is not so discouraging, however, as it 
at first seems. It is generaly known that pupils are 
intensely interested in all questions which are really 
problems of the home, school, community, or state. An 
abundance of material dealing with all sorts of ques- 
tions pertaining to home-making, health, civics, agri- 
culture, entomology, etc., is available in pamphlet form. 
Those can generally be obtained free of cost or for a 
small charge. Subjects which should be discussed in 
all grades are treated in these pamphlets. One may 
obtain articles from various sources on the fly menace, 
the treatment of contagious diseases, the care of the 
teeth, the value of fresh air, the care of milk, the dis- 
posal of garbage, the method of growing various crops, 
their value, soils, gardens, pests, and on many other 
subjects. Generally the content is presented in the form 
of problems. It abounds in detail and contains many 
descriptive passages which make it splendid material 
for training in comprehension and organization. 

Few of these pamphlets can be used in the begin- 
ning grades, but they afford factual material for the 
teacher who cares to write selections suitable for pri- 
mary pupils. An article on the house fly, well written 
in a popular style, but which could not be profitably 
used in grades below the third nevertheless contains in- 
formation about the fly as a carrier of disease and as 
a factor in infant mortality which is readily understood 
by a six-year-old pupil. By adapting the content to 
the class, and printing these exercises on the blackboard 



SILENT-READING MATERIAL 201 

or on tag board, the teacher obtains source material 
for twenty or more live and worth-while reading lessons. 
The Appendix (pages 357-381) contains lists of 
pamphlets, some of which may well be studied in the 
classroom. Practically all are supplied free of ^ cost. 
If the company or government department which pub- 
lishes the material listed is unwilling to supply dupli- 
cate copies, the teacher may have each pupil send for 
his own. However, if the teacher explains the use that 
she expects to make of the material, her request for 
duplicate copies will usually be granted. 

SUMMARY 

1. If pupils are to become efRcient readers, they must 
have access to much easy reading material. 

2. Experiments indicate that there is no general silent- 
reading ability, but that efficiency in reading varies 
with the type of subject-matter. 

3. Since there are apparently as many reading abilities 
as there are types of material, pupils should receive 
specific training in reading various kinds of subject- 
matter. 

4. The aim of an exercise in silent reading largely de- 
termines the type of subject-matter that should be 
used. 

5. Available sources which enable the teacher to present 
to the pupils the various types of subject-matter are 
the basic reader and supplementary readers, textbooks 
of history, geography, hygiene, and civics, and pamph- 
lets pertaining to subjects of general interest. 

SUGGESTED READINGS 
Bobbitt, Franklin. "Reading in the elementary schools of 
Indianapolis: The reading materials." Elementary School 
Journal, Vol. 19 (May) 1919. 



202 SILENT READING 

Courtis, S. A. "Analysis of reading ability." Journal of 
Educational Research, Vol. 4, (November) 1921. 

Greene, Harry A. "Measuring comprehension of content 
material." The Twentieth Yearbook of the National So- 
ciety for the Study of Education: Part TI. Public School 
Publishing Company, Bloomington, Illinois, 1921. 

Horn, Ernest. "A constructive program in silent reading." 
Journal of Educational Research, Vol. 3, (May) 1921. 

Horn, Ernest. "Selection of silent-reading textbooks/' 
Journal of Educational Research, Vol. 2 (October) 1920. 

Shepherd, Edith. "Some silent-reading lessons in junior 
high-school English." School Review, Vol. 29, (March) 
1921. 

Stone, C. R. Silent and Oral Reading. Houghton Mifflin 
Company, Boston, 1922. 

Sutherland, A. H. "Correcting school disabilities in read- 
ing." Elementary School Journal, Vol. 23, (September) 
1922. 

Wilson, Estaline. "Specific teaching of silent reading." 
Elementary School Journal, Vol. 22, (October) 1921. 



PART TWO 



CHAPTER XI 
SILENT EEADING IN GRADES I AND II 

The primary teacher's duty. The effective teaching 
of silent reading to first-grade pupils taxes the ingen- 
uity of the best teachers. On the first day the little 
folks come to school eager to learn, but with no knowl- 
edge of the symbols which are so full of meaning to 
their older brothers and sisters. It is the primary teach- 
er's duty and privilege to aid these children in their 
earliest attempts to solve the mysteries of reading. 

Oral or silent reading" in grade I. Regardless of 
the method used to teach beginning reading, silent read- 
ing should have a place beside oral reading. Authori- 
ties do not agree as to the relative emphasis which 
should be placed on oral and silent reading in the work 
of the beginning grades. Advocates of oral reading 
claim that it is natural for pupils in these grades to 
give oral expression to the symbols of reading, and 
that only in this way can pupils be taught to read. 
Others contend that overemphasis of oral reading in 
beginning grades largely accounts for the slow read- 
ing rate of many pupils in the more advanced grades. 
It is believed that the inherited tendency to inner speech 
and lip-movement is also accentuated by much oral read- 

205 



206 SILENT READING 

ing". Many teachers would practically eliminate oral 
reading in lower grades, except for reading poetry or 
stories to a class audience. We believe there is a legi- 
timate place for both kinds of reading even in the 
first grade. Pnpils should read silently more than they 
read aloud, even from the begining of their school work. 

Material for use in silent reading. The progressive 
teacher is not content to have her pupils use only one 
primer or reader. She may adopt one as the basis 
for her classwork in reading, and undoubtedly should 
do so, but at least three or four other books should be 
read. She should stress blackboard work, especially 
during the early weeks of the first year. 

The content of the most widely used primers, first 
readers, and second readers is rich in stories and nurs- 
ery rhymes. Although these are excellent for reading 
purposes, they should be supplemented by material se- 
lected from the library and by blackboard lessons based 
upon classroom projects and excursions. 

Pupils should be encouraged to read widely both in 
and out of school. It is a proven maxim that *'we 
learn to read by reading." This is emphasized by the 
following statements which recently appeared in the 
Twentieth Yearhooh of the National Society for the 
Study of Education: 

Schools in which a large number of books are read, 
in primary grades, as a rule produce strong readers. 
In the St. Louis survey a large proportion of the pupils 
were found to be reading many books silently during 



GRADES ONE AND TWO 207 

the second and third grades. In some classes the chil- 
dren read as many as one book a day. The tests showed 
that these children were markedly superior to those 
who did not have such opportunity. The extensive 
reader acquires a wide field of experience, secures much 
practice in silent reading for the thought, the thread 
of the story, or the points of interest. He becomes 
practiced in phrasing. His vocabulary is increased 
through the acquisition of words whose meaning is 
gathered from the context. 

Subject-matter for beginners. Unfortunately, the 
old-fashioned method of teaching beginning reading still 
prevails in many schools. Teachers select primers whose 
content has no intrinsic value as literature or story 
material, books which are without interest for the child. 
Their sole merit lies in the ingenious repetition of cer- 
tain words merely for the sake of the repetition. From 
the beginning, the use of such books requires one to 
emphasize the recognition of words, with the result that 
children form the habit of reading this meaningless 
material hesitatingly, one word at a time, as shown 
by the following sentences. 

''See"— ''my"— ''doll." 

" See ' '— ' ' my ' '— ' ' little ' '— ' ' doll. ' ' 

' ' See ' '— ' ' my ' '— ' ' pretty ' '— ' ' doll. ' ' 

Such work causes the child to change his attitude 
towards reading. He loses his eager desire to know 
w^hat is in books because the first ones are uninteresting, 
and he comes to look upon reading as a task instead of 
a means of obtaining delightful experiences. This is 



208 SILENT READING 

not alone wrong, it is deplorable. At the very begin- 
ning of their school work children should get the idea 
that reading consists of getting the meaning from the 
printed page. That idea should be constantly rein- 
forced by the use of meaningful material which is within 
the range of their interests and understanding. 

Material of the proper kind is to be found in many 
beautifully illustrated primers and first readers whose 
subject-matter has always fascinated children. The vo- 
cabularies of those readers have been simplified, but 
content has not been sacrificed to simplicity. Eepe- 
tition appears in them not as a mechanical drill device, 
but as an integral part of the story. Such reading 
books, supplemented by blackboard lessons based on 
classroom activities, make the teaching of reading a joy 
to both teacher and pupils. 

Methods for use with beginners. Even when using 
the proper kind of subject-matter the teaching of read- 
ing may be ineffective because of faulty presentation. 
Teachers should avoid using methods which tend to de- 
velop habits that will handicap pupils in their subse- 
quent work. The basic primer which contains trite, 
uninteresting subject-matter too often leads teachers to 
overemphasize the mechanics of reading. Reading les- 
sons become word and phonic drills, and pupils read 
in a parrotlike fashion. "Word and phrase drills do 
have their proper place in a method of primary read- 
ing instruction, but that place is after the reading of 
the story not before it. Then pupils realize the need 



GRADES ONE AND TWO 209 

of knowing the meaning of particular word groups; 
then the isolated phrases have content meaning. 

There are several good methods of teaching reading 
to beginners. These differ in the content on which they 
are based rather than in procedure, because all empha- 
size thought-getting. It is unlikely that any one method 
is best for all teachers. Usually, the better plan is to 
use one method as a basis for the beginning work and 
to supplement it with others. Three popular methods 
used extensively and successfully are here described 
and appraised. 

The action method. Briefly stated, this method is 
based upon the use of words which express action. 
Teachers who use it usually have the pupils begin read- 
ing in a primer during the sixth week of school. The 
choice of words that form the content of the early les- 
sons is to some extent governed by the vocabulary of 
the first primer lessons. 

During the first few days of school the children's at- 
tention is focused on several simple action words such 
as "run," ''jump," "hop," "skip," etc. The teacher 
begins by printing one of those words — "hop" — on 
the blackboard, and telling the pupils that they are to 
observe what she is going to do, because she will do what 
the word says. As soon as the pupils discover what 
the teacher does, they tell her what word she has writ- 
ten. Following that, several children point to the word 
and do what it says. As the lessons progress, all old 
words are constantly reviewed. 



210 SILENT READING 

As soon as pupils are able to recognize several words, 
the teacher prints short sentences either on the black- 
board or on strips of cardboard. The children are 
then asked to obey the commands stated in those sen- 
tences. Sentences such as "Run to me," "Hop to your 
seat," "Skip to me," can be introduced after two or 
three days' work. 

Games may be made a part of the review work. One 
child, playing "teacher," should be allowed to point 
to words and sentences, then to call on other pupils 
to respond by performing the action indicated by the 
designated word or phrase. The printed directions may 
be shown either on the blackboard or on the cardboard 
strips. 

Appraisal of the action method. The action method 
is valuable for teaching beginning reading, because chil- 
dren like to do things and consequently preserve a 
lively interest in this work, which is little else than a 
sort of game. This method minimizes oral reading, and 
furnishes the teacher with a simple but reliable measure 
of apprehension and comprehension. 

Two outstanding defects of the action method render 
it unsatisfactory if it is used exclusively. It promotes 
children's tendency to see separate words instead of 
word groups. The word, instead of the thought, be- 
comes the unit. This word-reading produces readers 
who are slow in rate and weak in ability to comprehend. 
A second defect of the action method is that teachers 
who use it are likely to prepare exercises which include 



GRADES ONE AND TWO 211 

subject-matter of but little interest to pupils, and words 
that are not in their vocabularies. 

The project method. Many teachers believe that 
they obtain the best results in beginning reading when 
they base the lessons on schoolrom activities or projects. 
When the teacher uses this method she does not have 
the pupils begin reading on the first day of school but 
postpones it for several days. During that time the 
teacher tells stories which she helps the children to 
dramatize in a small way, or she discusses some topic 
of interest to the class. Sometimes the whole class un- 
dertakes the execution of a project such as building a 
playhouse or dressing a doll. Children are encouraged 
to bring their toys and pets to school. Much free lan- 
guage work then centers around these activities and 
objects. The teacher then selects some subject of gen- 
eral interest to the class, which is related to the class- 
room activities. In her own informal talks about the 
subject selected she uses words and groups of words 
that are to appear in the first reading lessons. 

A lesson of this type reported^ by H. A. Brown of 
the Oshkosh State Normal School was based on the topic 
*' Rabbits." For several days the interest of the class 
had been centered on some rabbits which a pupil had 
brought to school. One morning when the children 
reached the classroom, they saw on the blackboard pic- 
tures of a mother rabbit and her young one. These 
sentences appeared beneath the respective pictures. 

^Brown, H. A. "Formulation of method in reading-." Journal 
of Educational Research, "Vol. 2, (June) 1920. 



212 SILENT READING 

Here is a big mother rabbit. 
This is a little baby rabbit. 

As the pupils had previously used these sentences in 
the informal discussion of the words, the teacher now 
directed attention to the printed forms, the sentences 
were used again in various ways, and later various 
pupils read them. 

On the second day the two sentences were read many 
times, and a third, familiar to the class from oral drill, 
was added. This plan was continued for several days, 
the old sentences being constantly reviewed in connec- 
tion with the new until a complete story was built up. 
The pupils soon had a vocabulary which enabled the 
teacher to conduct new lessons by using familiar words. 
The sentence was always the unit; children were never 
allowed to read word by word. 

A classroom project.^ A lesson of this same type, 
presented to a class that had been reading a week or 
so, was based on the topic ** Goldfish.'' As the pupils 
had been talking about the goldfish they had at home, 
the teacher suggested getting some for the schoolroom. 
That suggestion immediately aroused intense interest. 

In response to the teacher's questioning, the children 
suggested the need of water, shells, and weeds, in addi- 
tion to the goldfish and bowl. These words, printed 
on the blackboard when first mentioned, were also 
printed on slips of paper which the pupils used as 

iGray, W. S. "Reading- in the elementary schools of India- 
napolis : Part II." Elementary School Journal, Vol. 19, (March) 
1919. 



GRADES ONE AND TWO 213 

labels for the objects when the latter were obtained. 
Following that, the teacher told the class that they 
were ready ''to put the various articles together." The 
sentences below were written on the blackboard, and 
the child who first read each was assigned to carry 
out the direction stated. 

Get the bowl. 
Put water in the bowl. 
Put shells in the water. 
Put weeds in the bowl. 
Put fish in the water. 

During the language period which followed this les- 
son, the teacher asked the pupils to relate the experi- 
ences of the reading recitation, and as they did so the 
following sentences, given by the pupils, were written 
on the blackboard. Later the story was hectographed 
and handed to the pupils, who then read and discussed it. 

Goldfish 

We have four goldfish. 

We put them in a dish. 

We put water in the dish. 

We put shells in the water. 

We put weeds in the water. 

Fish like to eat weeds. 

We named the fish. 

The father fish is Dick. 

The mother fish is Lassie. 

One little fish is We ewe e. 

The other little fish is Weenee. 

Appraisal of the project method. Although the 



214 SILENT READING 

project method has much to commend it, teachers who 
have an inadequate supply of primers or whose primer 
contains only meaningless, uninteresting subject-mat- 
ter should not attempt to use it, because every project- 
method lesson should be supplemented by lessons that 
appear in the reading text. An exclusive use of the 
project method makes much extra work for the teacher, 
because the lessons must be very carefully prepared in 
order to be at all worth-while to the pupils. -An inade- 
quate preparation of project-method lesson material is 
worse, than the hackneyed subject-matter of the unsat- 
isfactory primers. The preparation of these lessons re- 
quires much time, more than is usually available to 
teachers who have several grades in one room. How- 
ever, teachers who have opportunity to prepare a back- 
ground for this sort of lesson by presenting the pre- 
liminary work, will find that this method of teaching 
beginning reading gives large returns for the effort ex- 
pended. Directing the children's interest to interesting 
subject-matter encourages thoughtful, intelligent read- 
ing, and quite properly makes the thought unit the 
center around which the lesson turns. 

The story method. If the teacher expects to use 
this method to teach beginning reading, her pupils must 
have a primer that contains subject-matter of vital in- 
terest. Primers of that type are usually based on nurs- 
ery rhymes or folk tales such as * * The Little Red Hen, ' ' 
'* Three Billy Goats Gruff," or ''The Gingerbread 
Boy." Some teachers have their pupils use such prim- 



GRADES ONE AND TWO 215 

ers for the first recitation. Others develop the rhymes 
and stories by means of blackboard lessons during the 
first few weeks, then have the children read from the 
books. If- a good primer of this type is used, there 
is no reason why the children may not read the book 
from the beginning. 

The lessons described in the following paragraphs 
show how the story method is used. The first, based 
on nursery rhymes, was preceded by two weeks of pre- 
primer work. The second, based on a folk tale, was 
read directly from the primer. 

Lessons based on nursery rhymes. The rhymes 
used for this lesson introduced Bo-Peep, Little Miss 
Muffet, Jack Horner, and Humpty Dumpty. On the 
first day of school the children enjoyed themselves look- 
ing at several illustrated editions of Mother Goose 
rhymes. They commented on the illustrations, identi- 
fied some of the characters, and recited such rhymes 
as they knew. The teacher called attention to the pic- 
ture of Little Bo-Peep, talked about her to the class, 
had the pupils discuss her, and then had several chil- 
dren recite the rhyme. A number of children who knew 
the song sang it to the others, and during the period 
devoted to art instruction the class drew pictures of 
Little Bo-Peep. 

The following morning all the children sang the song 
*' Little Bo-Peep." Then the teacher said, ^^How would 
you like to read the rhyme to me^ Let us print it on 
the blackboard where we all can see it. Tell me what 



216 SILENT READING 

to print first." Some child suggested, ''Little Bo-Peep 
has lost her sheep.'' That was then printed as one line, 
followed by the three remaining lines, printed as the 
children dictated. The rhyme was then read one line 
at a time, the teacher holding a strip of cardboard nnder 
each line as the pnpils recited. Several children then 
recited the rhyme line by line, as the teacher moved the 
marker. Following that, the teacher asked the class to 
read the lines she indicated. During that exercise she 
did not follow the regular order of lines. 

For the afternoon lesson the teacher again printed the 
rhyme on the blackboard. She then displayed strips of 
cardboard on which she had printed phrases such as 
Little Bo-Peep, don't know where, Jim lost her sheep, 
etc., and asked pupils to place the phrase cards under 
the same phrases written on the blackboard. Pupils had 
some difficulty to do this. They were familiar with the 
verses because of their place in the rhyme, and not 
because they recognized the phrases as such. During 
this work some pupils volunteered to help others who 
could not readily locate the phrases. 

The teacher next showed the children a printed chart 
which bore the rhyme. After the pupils had compared 
this with the rhyme printed on the blackboard, in order 
to see if the two were alike, the teacher cut each line 
of the rhyme from the chart and then had the children 
place the line in the proper order on an improvised rack. 
"While doing this work the children were guided by the 
rhyme printed on the blackboard. 



GRADES ONE AND TWO 217 

The following day the teacher again printed the 
rhyme on the blackboard as the children recited it, and 
then had them arrange the strips on the rack as before. 
This was followed by a short phrase drill. The children 
then closed their eyes while the teacher removed one lin© 
from the rack. She afterwards asked the pupils to tell 
which line had been taken away. They did this by com- 
paring the rhyme on the rack with the one on the black- 
board. After this exercise the pupils were asked to use 
their phrase cards for matching certain phrases on the 
cards which were placed on the rack. 

For the next lesson the teacher drew a blackboard 
picture of Little Bo-Peep and her sheep, and wrote the 
following sentences beneath it. 

This is Little Bo-Peep. 
She lost her sheep. 
Her sheep came home. 

The children were able to recognize some of the familiar 
phrases immediately. By means of drill the teacher soon 
acquainted them with all the words and phrases in these 
sentences. 

In a similar manner the teacher presented and devel- 
oped the three nursery rhymes, "Little Miss Muffet, " 
*'Jack Horner," and "Humpty Dumpty." The old 
rhyme was always reviewed in connection with the new 
by means of such exercises as these. 

Little Bo-Peep lost her sheep. 

She went to Little Miss Muffet. 

Little Miss Muffet was sitting on a tuffet. 



218 SILENT READING 

She was eating curds and whey. 
She said, ''Leave them alone and they'll come 
home.'* 

The teacher then showed sentences like the following, 
printed on cardboard strips. 

Show me the black spider. 

Show me Little Bo-Peep and her sheep. 

She then displayed pictures of the incidents mentioned 
in the rhymes, and upon showing one of the cardboard 
strips containing a command, she asked various children 
to do what the sentence directed. 

Rapid drill on the words that frequently occurred was 
given at separate periods. The teacher pointed to a 
word on the chart or blackboard, then asked the class to 
indicate some other word that resembled it. Much drill 
was devoted to training in the recognition of phrases. 

Towards the close of the second week the teacher intro- 
duced short silent-reading exercises consisting of printed 
questions based on the rhymes. Questions similar to the 
following were readily answered by the pupils. 

Who lost her sheep? 

Did Bo-Peep go to Little Miss Muffet? 

Who said, ** Please help me find my sheep?'* 

At the beginning of the third week the children began 
reading from their primers. They first spent some time 
looking through their books, examining the illustrations, 
and talking about the stories. They were able to identify 
many of the rhymes by means of the illustrations. When 
the pupils had looked through the primer they turned 



GRADES ONE AND TWO 219 

to the first story. Some wanted to read it at once, but 
the teacher suggested that they first read the selection 
from the pictures to make sure that it was about the 
people of whom they had been reading in the black- 
board lessons. That finished, the pupils read the story 
from the book. All read a sentence silently and then 
some pupil was selected to tell the class what the line 
said. If a sentence consisted of two lines, the teacher 
explained that the two were to be read together. Thus 
the entire story was read. 

As the second primer story also consisted of a nursery 
rhyme, it was handled in the same way. Drill on diffi- 
cult words and phrases was conducted at a separate 
period after reading the story. When pupils failed to 
recognize a phrase, the teacher helped by asking some 
question which indicated the setting of the phrase in 
the story. By substituting the children's names for 
those of the story characters, as the foUomng sentences 
show, the pupils received practice in recognizing phrases 
in new settings. 

Let us play we are Mother Goose children. 

Jack and Billy sat on a wall. 

Mary sat on a tuffet in the corner. 

Phillip blew his horn. 

Jack, Billy, and Mary were frightened. 

Mary ran away. 

Billy had a great fall. 

He bumped his head. 

He told Jack he broke his crown. 



220 SILENT READING 

Appraisal of the nursery-rhyme method. This 
method of teaching beginning reading by basing the 
first reading lessons on nursery rhymes has proved very 
satisfactory to many teachers. The familiar, meaning- 
ful content fascinates pupils. By placing the emphasis 
on thought-getting the reading does not degenerate into 
mere word calling. 

The main objection to the method is that its use early 
introduces into the child's vocabulary such unusual 
expressions as ''sat on a tuffet," "broke his crown," 
etc. However, as those few unfamiliar phrases add to 
the jingle of the rhyme, that difficulty has aparently 
been overestimated. When using nursery rhymes, teach- 
ers must at all times make sure that pupils know the 
same version before they begin to read. Unless they 
have attended kindergarten such is not likely to be the 
case, because versions of the nursery ryhmes taught in 
different homes vary considerably. 

Lessons based on folk tales. The treatment of these 
lessons resembles that of those based on the nursery 
rhymes, the need of pre-primer work depending on the 
simplicity of the primer in hand. If pre-primer work 
is used, the lessons should be based on the first few 
stories of the chosen primer and should introduce the 
important words and phrases of the book. In any case, 
however, blackboard lessons should precede and supple- 
ment reading from the books. 

In presenting the lessons described here the primer 
was used from the first, although blackboard or chart 



GRADES ONE AND TWO 221 

would have been equally satisfactory. The primer was 
used because each child had a book of his own and was 
anxious to use it, the vocabulary of the textbook was 
simple, and the illustrations were such that children 
could almost obtain the content of the story from them 
alone. 

At the beginning of the first lesson the teacher gath- 
ered the class about her, distributed the books, and told 
the pupils to examine them. Each did so, remarked 
about the illustrations, and suggested stories that he 
would like to read. Pupils identified many stories by 
means of the illustrations. When the class had spent 
some time looking at the books, the teacher told the story 
of *'The Little Red Hen,"^ using the exact words of 
the book in so far as possible. When she finished, the 
pupils commented at length on the characters and inci- 
dents described. 

The teacher then asked the pupils to ''read'* the 
story from the pictures. During that exercise she so 
worded her questions that the children were compelled 
to answer by using the words and phrases of the book, 
with which the teacher's oral rendition had acquainted 
them. For example, the teacher asked: ''What does 
the first picture tell about T' "What did the little red 
hen find?" "What was the little red hen going to do 
with the seed ! " " What did she say r ' " What did the 
pig say?" "What did the cat say?" etc. The chil- 

iThis story appears in the Primer of the Free and Treadwell 
Reading -Literature Series published by Row, Peterson and Com- 
pany, Chicago. 



222 SILENT READING 

dren's answers, in complete sentences, were as follows: 
^'The first picture tells us about the little red hen." 
''The little red hen found a seed." ''The little red hen 
was going to plant the seed." "She said, 'Who will 
plant the seed r " "The pig said, 'Not I.' " "The cat 
said, 'Not I,'" etc. 

On the following day the teacher explained that the 
pupils were to read the story of "The Little Red Hen" 
again, but in a different way, not altogether from the 
pictures. She again told the story, and as she used each 
phrase she displayed a card on which it appeared. She 
taught the phrases, "Who will plant the seed?", "Not 
I, " "I will then, " " and she did, ' ' in this way. During 
the next few minutes the pupils identified the phrases 
by comparing the words of their books with the phrases 
printed on the cards, the teacher giving needed assist- 
ance. The drill was concluded when the pupils showed 
signs of fatigue. Whenever a child located a phrase 
which he could not read, the teacher asked some ques- 
tion about the content so as to help him. The brighter 
children readily recognized the phrases of the first les- 
son which occur throughout the story. 

On the afternoon following this lesson the children 
actually read the text of the story. At that time the 
teacher distributed markers and explained their use, 
telling the children to place the marker under each 
line as it was read.^ Whenever necessary the teacher 

^Many teachers find that children who use a marker during* 
the begtinning- work are less likely to form the pernicious habit 
of following the lines with the finger. 



GRADES ONE AND TWO 223 

told the class to drop the marker two lines instead of 
one. In reading, the teacher designated the line, asked 
the class to read it silently, then asked some child to 
read it aloud. If the pupil had difficulty in reading 
a line, the teacher helped him by means of a question 
that gave the phrase its setting. For example, when 
the class could not read the line, ''The little red hen 
said, 'Who will plant the seed^," the teacher explained 
that the line told what the little red hen said when 
she found the seed. She also displayed a phrase card 
bearing the expression, ' ' The pig said, ' Not I. ' " When- 
ever a pupil interpreted the content correctly but failed 
to use the words of the book as he did so, the teacher 
explained that the sentence in question meant what the 
child said, but that he had used the wrong words. For 
example, one pupil said, "The pig said, 'I won't.' " 
The teacher then asked the other members of the class 
to tell the pig's exact words. 

Each exercise of the type just described was followed 
by a word and phrase drill during the next period. 
During such drills the children were allowed to help 
each other. Similar phrase drills were used for review 
exercises. 

During such lesson presentations as have been de- 
scribed the teacher must be alert every minute. She 
must help the children to adjust their markers, she 
must ask questions that will bring out the content of 
each sentence, and she must see that all take an active 
part in the recitation. Each story must be carefully 



224 SILENT READING 

developed according to the following steps, whose order 
must not be modified if the teacher expects to obtain 
the best results. 

1. Tell the story in an interesting manner, being 
careful to preserve the proper sequence of inci- 
dents and to use the important words and phrases 
of the book as much as possible. 

2. Have the pupils '*read" the story from the pic- 
tures. Use skillful questioning that will encour- 
age them to reproduce the exact words and phrases 
of the text. 

3. Re-tell the story to the class, making use of word 
cards and phrase cards. 

4. Have the children locate certain phrases, compare 
the phrases on the cards with those in the book, 
and read the sentences of the book which contain 
the phrases being studied. 

5. Have the pupils read the story from the book, 
sentence by sentence, at first silently, then orally. 

6. Grive blackboard and flash-card drill on words, 
phrases, and sentences which are to be fixed in 
the minds of the pupils. 

7. Conclude the study of a story by having the chil- 
dren dramatize it for presentation before some 
other group. 

Phonics in beginning" reading. The exact relation of 
phonic instruction to the successful teaching of begin- 



GRADES ONE AND TWO 225 

ning reading has not yet been determined scientifically, 
and there is still a lack of data on the subject. 

Currier and Duguid report^ an experiment conducted 
in the first and second grades. The pupils of each 
grade were classified into two groups, one being taught 
by means of phonic drill, the other by means of the 
sense-content method, supplemented by drill with word 
and phrase cards. At the end of the year those chil- 
dren who had received instruction in phonics pronounced 
words accurately, but could with difficulty reproduce 
what they read. Concentration on the sounds of let- 
ters had diverted their attention from the sense of the 
material to mere word pronunciation. The pupils who 
had received no phonic training were less accurate in 
pronunciation, but they could read more rapidly and 
fluently and could more readily reproduce what they 
read. The ability of the two groups to attack new 
words was approximately equal. The authors state that 
''foreign children, those having impediments of speech, 
and those who had previously formed bad habits of 
pronunciation were greatly benefited by the phonic 
drills.'' 

Appraisal of the phonic method. Although the re- 
sults of this experiment are not sufficiently extensive 
to serve as the basis for final conclusions, nevertheless 
they support the opinions formed by many who have 
made a study of primary-reading methods. These con- 
tend that an overemphasis of phonics is detrimental to 

^Currier, Lillian B., and Dusruid, Olive C. "Phonics or no 
phonics?" Eleinentary School Journal, Vol. 17, (December) 1916. 



226 SILENT READING 

the formation of good reading- habits, and that begin- 
ning reading can be taught successfully by using little 
phonic drill, if any. So far as pronunciation is con- 
cerned, phonics gives the pupil a method of attacking 
new words, and tends to make him an independent 
reader very early in his school life. But it is likely 
that other less desirable results which are not so readily 
recognized come from the early introduction of phonics. 

Phonic drill centers the child's attention on single 
letters or on small groups of letters. This prevents the 
development of the wide eye-span necessary to effective 
silent reading. Phonics also divert the child's attention 
from the meaning of a story to the mechanics of read- 
ing, as is shown when he stops short in his reading of 
a selection to *' sound" some unfamiliar word. That 
practice causes him to lose the thread of the story; his 
so-called reading is mere word-calling. 

When should phonics be begun? There is little 
agreement among teachers as to the time when phonic 
drill should be introduced, or the emphasis it should 
receive. Miss Watkins, who begins phonic instruction 
during the first few weeks of school, says^ that after 
the children are classified and arranged in their respec- 
tive groups the daily work in phonics should begin. 
Miss Hardy, teacher in the elementary school of the 
University of Chicago, begins phonic work during the 
sixth week of school." Brown seriously questions the 

iWatkins, Emma. How to Teach Silent Reading to Beginners. 
J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia, 1922. 

^Parker, Samuel Chester. "How to teach beginning- reading: 
Part III." Elementary School Journal, Vol. 22, (November) 1921. 



GRADES ONE AND TWO 227 

use of phonic drill and word analysis during the early- 
stages of reading. He says:^ 

Certain considerations must be taken into account 
in connection with the problems of phonetic drill. What 
reading habits are most desirable t What procedure in 
teaching is conducive to their development? These are 
questions which must receive serious consideration. 
Speed is a highly desirable factor in reading ability, 
merely as a timesaver if for no other reason. All habits 
which lead to slow and ponderous reading must be 
avoided. Speed in reading depends in part upon the 
size of the units of recognition, i. e., the amount which 
can be seen by the reader during eye-pauses, and in 
part upon the duration of eye-pauses. The individual 
who sees only a small portion of the line during an 
eye-pause must make many fixations. The longer the 
eye-pauses, the slower will be the reading, other things 
being equal. Will not a habit of attention to textual 
details inevitably result in slowness in reading? Will 
not a habit of recognition through dominant charac- 
teristics of words and phrases, with their minute par- 
ticulars marginal in attention, become a distinct aid in 
interpreting thought? Is not the inevitable result of 
two or three years of persistent drill on the isolated 
elements of words bound to be a predominant habit 
of attention to the minute particulars of words? Can 
the eye be trained to take in large units by practice 
on small ones? Will not prolonged attention to word 
forms effectively prevent the development of a habit 
of thinking meanings as one reads? 

In view of the facts at hand, it seems to me to be 
a radically wrong procedure to introduce such a large 
amount of abstract phonetic drill in the earliest stages 
of reading as is often found. It seems to me to be a 

^Brown, H. A. "Formulation of method in reading." Journal 
of Educational Research^ Vol. 2, (June) 1920. 



228 SILENT READING 

very obvious inference that the predominant emphasis 
in method at the beginning must be upon the instantan- 
eous recognition of words and word groups, the mental 
process being concerned with meanings rather than with 
word forms. 

The children of the third grade in the training de- 
partment of the State Normal School at Oshkosh spent 
the first two years in extensive reading of simple stories 
for pure enjoyment, with their attention entirely on 
the content. During the reading period all words not 
instantly recognized were told immediately. Word de- 
velopment was taken up in separate periods, the words 
being incorporated in phrases for drill, and no atten- 
tion being called to the elements of words. Approxi- 
mately fifty minutes per day were spent on all phases 
of reading, including silent reading, word development 
and study, and oral reading. Silent reading was begun 
early in the first year. Before the end of the second 
year the children began to pronounce new words with- 
out help, applying independently the general knowledge 
of phonic laws acquired unconsciously through much 
reading. 

Beginning with the third year, the children were en- 
couraged to organize the phonic facts so gained, and 
the four or five most common principles of phonics 
were taught. A short period at the end of the day 
was devoted to '^pronouncing long words," as the chil- 
dren called it. This period became so popular that 
only with difficulty were the children persuaded to omit 
it on special occasions. Recently they were pronounc- 
ing with ease and enjoyment such words as hj^drocar- 
bon, hydrometer, tuberculosis, capitulate, centigrade, 
epidote, actuate, and many others of equal difficulty, 
without the aid of diacritical marks or context. 

These children have developed insatiable appetites for 
reading, and they read intelligently and accurately with 
good expression and excellent speed. Of the two daily 



GRADES ONE AND TWO 229 

reading lessons in the third grade, one is devoted to oral 
and the other to silent reading. The children are cap- 
able of reading any material suited to their age in 
content, and they read great numbers of books during 
spare periods and out of school hours. 

Deferred phonic training. Although many teachers 
believe that the first week of school is ^o early for 
beginning instruction in phonics, they think that pupils 
need phonic drill before the beginning of the third grade, 
and that they can use phonics to advantage before that 
time. Such teachers usually introduce phonic drill 
toward the close of the first school year, about two 
months or six weeks before the close of the final semes- 
ter. By that time pupils -have usually read several 
primers and first readers. The emphasis on content has 
caused them to form the habit of reading for meaning 
and recognizing new words by their setting in the con- 
text. Although special training in word analysis is 
not given by these teachers, they insist on clear enuncia- 
tion during music exercises and during the recitation 
of poems. Such work is good ear training. Many bright 
children seem to devise a system of attacking new words. 
For the benefit of the majority of the class, however, 
certain periods should be devoted to special drill at 
this time. The introduction of phonic instruction to- 
ward the latter part of the first school year renders 
less likely the development of a habit of word-calling. 
Children at that time recognize the value of phonics 
as a tool which will help them to read. The ability 



230 SILENT READING 

they have acquired during their reading" for content 
enables them to realize the need of some sort of assist- 
ance. 

Importance of practice in reading. Children learn 
to read well by reading much. Practice makes perfect. 
"Wide reading brings the child into contact with new 
ideas, new phrases, and new words, and enables him 
to review many old words and expressions. It is neces- 
sary for pupils in the primary grades to have access 
to much interesting reading material. A minimum of 
three primers and three first readers should be read in 
the first grade. In schools where there are well- 
equipped libraries many more are often read. The chil- 
dren should be given an opportunity to do much con- 
trolled silent reading and much supplementary read- 
ing. As we have already suggested, a supply of sup- 
plementary reading books may be obtained by having 
the pupils bring their story-books to the class to ex- 
change with each other. These, and any other supple- 
mentary reading material, should be kept on a table 
or shelf where they will be accessible to all. Pupils 
may be permitted to read in those books after they 
have finished their assignments. Every effort should 
be made, however, to obtain a supply of books for the 
school library. A list of books that have proven highly 
satisfactory for use in primary grades is given in the 
Appendix (pages 357-381). 

Controlled silent reading. Pupils of the first and 
second grades should read silently during the regular 



GRADES ONE AND TWO 231 

class period in order to have the pleasure that comes 
from reading good stories. Many of the better first 
and second readers present in simple and interesting 
style fairy tales, myths, and nursery rhymes that have 
long fascinated children. The teacher should let the 
pupils read such material and then have them discuss 
the stories when they have finished. That practice cul- 
tivates the children's desire to read worthy material. 

An example of the interest that may be aroused by 
an exercise of this kind is shown by the experience of 
a class which was very anxious to read from a new 
set of readers that had arrived a few days previously. 
Upon examining the books the class decided they would 
like to read the story of '^The Fisherman and His 
Wife." They judged from the illustrations that this 
would prove interesting. One child, who had read the 
story at home, assured the others that such was the 
case. The teacher mentioned that she too knew the 
story, and she told the pupils that she would be inter- 
ested to learn whether or not they would feel sorry for 
the fisherman and his wife. Spurred on by these in- 
centives, the children read the story with keen interest 
and discussed it thoroughly when they had finished. 
The teacher took little part in the discussion; doubtful 
points, or those on whicji pupils disagreed, were cleared 
up by reference to the book. 

Arousing children's interest. The practice of arous- 
ing an interest in a lesson or task is commendable. 
Teachers often accomplish this by relating some inter- 



232 SILENT READING 

esting story at the opening of a reading period, then 
asking the children to read the story from books with 
which she provides them. The children's interest in the 
story induces thoughtful, purposeful reading; the influ- 
ence of the clock provides for a speedy rate. Such les- 
sons are usually concluded by asking a pupil to tell 
the story, or by using it as a topic for discussion dur- 
ing the English lesson. The latter plan is advisable 
as a test of comprehension. A large number of sup- 
plementary readers is a valuable asset to any teacher 
who wants to make the most of children's interest in 

good reading material. 

SUMMARY 

1. Silent reading should be stressed as much as oral read- 
ing, even in the first grade. 

2. The teacher should encourage pupils in the primary 
grades to read extensively, because much reading tends 
to make good readers. 

3. The reading material used should stimulate and foster 
the children's desire to learn to read. 

4. Pre-primer lessons should be based only on such mate- 
rial as children will want to read outside of school. 

5j In the first and second grades, phonic and word drills 
\ are absolutely necessary. They must always be given 
kt a period separate from the reading recitation. 

6. The transition from the blackboard reading work to 
reading directly from the books is more readily made 
if the former is based on the first primer lessons. 

7. If first and second-grade pupils are to develop good 
reading habits, the teacher must emphasize controlled 
silent reading, supplementary reading, and silent-reading 
drill. 

8. It is essential that pupils in the primary grades do 
much reading for pleasure. 



GRADES ONE AND TWO 233 

SUGGESTED READINGS 

Arnold, Sarah L. Learning to Read. Silver, Burdett and 
Company, Chicago. 

Boggs, Lucinda. "How children learn to read." Pedagogical 
Seminary, Vol. 12, 1905. 

Chubb, Percival. The Teaching of English. (Chapters 6 
and 7.) The Macmillan Company, New York City, 1908. 

Clark, S. H. Hoiv to Teach Reading in the Puhlic Schools. 
Scott, Foresman and Company, Chicago, 1898. 

Gray, W. S. "Principles of method in teaching reading 
derived from scientific investigation." The Eighteenth 
Yearbook of the "National Society for the Study of Edu- 
cation: Part II. Public School Publishing Company, 
Bloomington, Illinois, 1919. 

Huey, Edmund B. The Psychology and Pedagogy of Read- 
ing. The Macmillan Company, New York City, 1908. 

Jenkins, Frances. Reading in the Primary Grades. Hough- 
ton Mifflin and Company, Boston, 1915. 

Klapper, Paul. Teaching Children to Read, D. Appleton 
and Company, New York City, 1915. 

McMurry, Lida B. Method for Teaching Primary Reading. 
The Macmillan Company, New York City, 1914. 

Rapeer, L. W. (and others). Teaching Elementary-school 
Subjects. (Chapter 7.) Charles Scribner's Sons, New 
York City, 1917. 

Stone, C. R. Silent and Oral Reading. Houghton Mifflin 
Company, Boston, 1922. 

Theisen, W. W. "Factors affecting results in primary read- 
ing." The Twentieth Yearbook of the National Society 
for the Study of Education: Part II. Public School 
Publishing Company, Bloomington, Illinois, 1921. 



CHAPTER XII 

SUPPLEMENTARY EXERCISES FOR GRADES 

I AND II 

The need of word and phrase drills. It is essential 
that pupils in beginning reading classes frequently be 
given effective word and phrase drills. These help chil- 
dren learn to read by training them to recognize words 
and phrases quickly, an ability upon which progress 
in reading largely depends, especially when little phonic 
instruction is given. Even though the begining read- 
ing material does consist of simple, interesting subject- 
matter, word drill and supplementary blackboard les- 
sons are necessary. This is particularly the case when 
pupils have only one or a few readers available. 

A number of drill plans and devices suitable for use 
with beginners are presented on the following pages. 
The exercises are only suggestive; teachers should mod- 
ify them whenever necessary, determining their changes 
by the principle that an exercise must always be adapted 
to the working vocabulary of the pupils. 

How to conduct drills. As a rule, the teacher 
should classify each large class into three groups con- 
sisting respectively of the fast, medium-rate, and slow 
readers. Pupils do better work when they are included 

234 



SUPPLEMENTARY EXERCISES 235 

in a group whose members are of nearly equal ability. 
There is but little incentive for a slow reader to try 
to read rapidly, if 80 per cent of the class excel him 
all the time. If such a pupil is placed in a group 
whose reading rate is nearly the same as his own, he 
realizes that he has a fighting chance to excel, and is 
consequently more likely to do his best work all the 
time. 

"When conducting drill exercises the words, phrases, 
and sentences should be presented so rapidly that the 
pupil can read them only as wholes. The length of 
the exposure should be less than the time which a fast 
reader requires to pronounce the words. Words and 
phrases can be presented by flashing cards on which 
they are printed, more satisfactorily than by writing 
them on the blackboard. If the teacher writes the 
words on the blackboard as she conducts the drill, 
pupils read them letter by letter as they are written, 
and that destroys any value that the drill, as such, 
might have. If the blackboard is used, it is well to 
write the list of words before the exercise begins, cover 
it with a map or window blind that rolls at the bottom, 
then expose the words and phrases one at a time. 

The following drills may be used to advantage in 
the first and second grades. Each should contain those 
words and phrases that most frequently occur in the 
reading material which the class is studying. All work 
should be motivated by presenting it in the form of 
games, dramatizations, or competitive exercises. After 



236 SILENT READING 

the pupils learn how to execute a number of these word 
and phrase drills and other exercises^ the work may 
be truly pupil-motivated by allowing the children to 
choose the games they wish to play. 

Exercise I : Action Words 
All children like to play make-believe. The teacher 
can make use of this tendency by presenting the fol- 
lowing game based on action words. The exercise can 
be varied by permitting the pupils who do the best 
work to play ** teacher." 

How many would like to play a game this morning ? 
Would you like to play that we are deaf and dumb? 
Very well, that's what we shall do. Under the curtain 
is a long list of words, each of which tells us some- 
thing to do. When I point to a word you must do 
what it tells you. Remember, though, we are unable 
to speak. Now let's see who can act first. 



stand 


rise 


run 


cry 


smile 


clap 


hop 


turn 


bend 


frown 


laugh 


reach 


sit 


jump 


skip 


walk 



Exercise II: Drill on Prepositions 
Children often fail to comprehend a sentence because 
they can not distinguish among such words as ''behind," 
''beside," "beneath," etc. To remedy this defect the 
teacher may use the following exercise which is similar 
to the preceding one. She should select words and 
phrases which most frequently occur in future reading 



SUPPLEMENTARY EXERCISES 237 

exercises. Pupils enjoy making a '*race" of this exer- 
cise. 

Print each of the phrases given below (or others if 
more suitable) on a strip of cardboard. Write the 
phrase "Place your hands'' on the blackboard. In- 
struct the children to read the blackboard phrase in 
connection with the cards as they are flashed, then fol- 
low the command stated. 

under the desk below the desk 

on the desk over the desk 

above the desk in front of the desk 

beneath the desk behind the desk 

in the desk upon the desk 

beside the desk underneath the desk 

Exercise III: Labeling Objects and Pictures 

The teacher should print on cards the names of 
objects and pictures of objects in the room. Flash 
the cards rapidly before the class. The pupil who can 
first name the word on a card should be allowed to 
take the card and use it to label the object or picture 
to which it refers. If the pupil who does the labeling 
makes an error, it should be corrected by another. 

Children who first successfully complete the exer- 
cise should be given a supplementary set of cards to 
use for labeling other objects, while the remainder of 
the class continues the drill. This exercise may be 
made competitive by dividing the class into two groups, 
and allowing each group to keep score by reckoning 
the number of objects and pictures which its members 
label correctly. 

Pictures for use In the exercise may be cut from 



238 SILENT READING 

old books, magazines, newspapers, and catalogues, then 
mounted on sheets of heavy paper or cardboard. 

Exercise IV: Opposites 

The following exercise, based on the list of words 

given below (or on any others with which pupils are 

likely to be acquainted) serves not only as a drill on 

the recognition of word^, but also as a language drill 

which emphasizes both speed and comprehension. 

Prepare a number of flash cards about 6x9 inches in 
size. On one side of a card print a word, for example, 
**cold," and on the reverse print the opposite, in this 
case, *'hot." Flash the cards before the class. The 
pupil who answers is to call the word that appears, 
then give the opposite. Whenever a child answers cor- 
rectly, give him the card. The winner is the pupil who 
holds the most cards at the close of the exercise. 



black 


up 


long 


young 


dirty 


day 


heavy 


winter 


dry 


out 


old 


clean 


white 


down 


short 


wet 


in 


night 


light 


summer 



Exercise V: Signs 
The use of flash cards on which familiar and well- 
known signs are printed not only furnishes an excellent 
drill in the rapid recognition of words and comprehen- 
sion of phrases, but is also of practical value in that 
it enables children better to look after their personal 
welfare. Children very much enjoy this sort of drill 
and eagerly report the new signs which they discover 
so that those too may be made a part of the exercise. 
The group of signs reproduced below is only sugges- 



SUPPLEMENTARY EXERCISES 239 

tive. The alert teacher will be able to supplement it 
with many others. Many signs and slogans may be 
found on posters issued in behalf of the Red Cross 
Society, health crusades, fire prevention, etc. 

Stop ! Look ! Listen ! 
Railway Crossing. Look Out ! 
School House. Go Slow ! 
Danger ! Sound Klaxon ! 
Slow down to 15 miles per hour. 
Cars stop here. 
Swat the fly! 
Interurban Station. 

Exercise YI : Drill on Familiar Combinations 
The reading material used in the first and second 
grades usually contains many words which frequently 
appear in the same combinations. Drill on those com- 
binations is very profitable. The phrases should be 
printed on strips of cardboard which are flashed before 
the class. As already suggested, these flash cards must 
be exposed but a short time in order to give pupils 
practice in reading groups of words as units. The rec- 
ognition of phrases at a glance tends to develop speed. 
The following list is only suggestive. In every case 
the teacher must base her list on the subject-matter 
of the textbook which the pupils have in hand. 

by and by long, long ago 

one day once there was 

once upon a time one morning 

once there lived the little girl 

the old woman the next day 



240 SILENT READING 

on the way thank you 

good morning one bright day 

bad boy one summer morning 

Exercise VII: Speed-development Drill 
The quick recognition of word groups which appear 
in the reading material regularly used by the pupils 
should be developed by means of phrase drills that 
tend to habituate the formation of a wide eye-span and 
to decrease regressive ej^e-movements. During such ex- 
ercises the pupils should be required to work at top 
speed. Large classes may be divided into groups and 
those pitted against each other in order to introduce 
a spirit of competition. The class should be asked to 
refer to some familiar selection. The teacher then men- 
tions groups of words such as "sing a song," "play 
with me," "to see grandma," "into a room," etc., 
and asks the pupils to "race" so that she may see who 
can be the first to find the phrase that has been read. 
Capable pupils should occasionally be allowed to take 
the teacher's place in this exercise. 

Exercise VIII : Action-phrase Drill 
Children's ability to comprehend may be effectively 
tested by presenting exercises which require the pupils 
to carry out some command. This and the following 
exercise are suggestive of the sort of drills which teach- 
ers can prepare. 

Write a "foundation sentence" on the blackboard. 
This should consist of some general direction. Flash 



SUPPLEMENTARY EXERCISES 241 

cards bearing words or groups of words which com- 
plete the sentence, having the pupils "race" to see 
who can answer first. The exercise may be varied by 
writing the ''foundation sentence" and all the supple- 
mentary phrases on the blackboard, then uncovering 
the latter one at a time. 

Place your hands . . . 

. .above your head 
. . on your hips 
. . on your shoulders 
. .behind your head 
. . in your pockets 
. .by your sides 

SlLENT-EEADi:fTG ExEECISES BaSED ON SCHOOLEOOM 

Activities and Pkojects 

Exercise IX : Action Sentences 
An effective drill device, easily prepared, consists of 
sentence cards that give instructions for performing 
some schoolroom activity. The sentences may be either 
written on the blackboard or printed on strips of card- 
board. Pupils should be instructed to carry out the 
command as soon as they read it. Such exercises as 
these train the children to grasp a group of words at 
a glance, and they enable the teacher to measure the 
comprehension ability of the pupils. The following sen- 
tences are typical of those that may be used for this 
sort of exercise. 

Run to the window and look out. 

Tell us what you see. 

Place the clock on the window sill. 



242 SILENT READING 

Turn the clock so we cannot see the face. 

See who can find a long string. 

Jack and Fred may play horse. 

Bring me the book of Mother Goose rhymes. 

Who can find ''Little Boy Blue?" 

Read it to us, Mary. 

Exercise X: Games as Drills 

The play instinct may be used as the basis for silent- 
reading drills. The following instructions, written on 
the blackboard or printed on cards which are flashed 
before the class, are good examples of a valuable com- 
bination of work and play. Children enjoy drills which 
are motivated like this one. 

How many would like to play a new kind of basket 

ball? 
George and Willie, you may place the chairs out of 

the way. 
Jennie, bring the wastebasket. 
Place it in the center of the cleared space. 
Mary, bring the basket ball and place it in the basket. 
The boys will play against the girls. 
Form a big ring around the basket. 
First a boy, then a girl, then a boy, and so on. 
Throw the ball into the basket. 
Make one try, then pass the ball to the next pupil. 
Hand the ball to the pupil on your right. 
We will mark the score on the blackboard. 
You may keep score for the boys, Joseph. 
You may keep score for the girls, Florence. 
Is everybody ready? 
Francis, you may begin. 



SUPPLEMENTARY EXERCISES 243 

Exercise XI : Dramatization 
Stories sucli as "The Boy and the Goat," "Chicken 
Little," "Three Billy Goats Graff, "^ "The Three 
Bears," "The Fox and the Grapes," "The Pig 
Brother," "The Dog in the Manger," and "The Hare 
and the Tortoise" may be dramatized by first and sec- 
ond-grade pnpils. They enjoy such work because it 
is a type of groijp activity which gives much pleasure, 
especially when one class presents its dramatization be- 
fore another. Dramatization is effective drill because 
children must read carefully, organize, and make an 
effort to retain if they are to do the work successfully. 
The final result serves the teacher as a reliable measure 
of children's ability to comprehend. 

In conducting a dramatization the teacher should first 
ask the pupils to read some familiar story silently. She 
should then permit one child to select othets who will 
help him act the story in pantomime. After the presen- 
tation of the pantomime the pupils should be asked 
to guess what story was dramatized. Directions for 
presenting a selection may be printed on cards, or writ- 
ten on the blackboard and used as a flash-card drill 
in silent reading. The following questions based on 
the story of "The Boy and the Goat" are suggestive. 

How many children do we need to play this story? 
Whom shall we chose for the little boy? 
Whom shall we choose for the goat? 

iThese three stories appear in the Primer of the Free and 
Treadwell Reading -Literature Series published by Row, Peterson 
and Company, Chicago, 



244 SILENT READING 

Where did the goat run to? 
What shall we call the woods? 
Choose a rabbit, a squirrel, and a fox. 
Who wants to be the little bee? 
Where shall the home be? 

Exercise XII: Excursions 

Field excursions, visits to factories, dairies, pumping 
stations, blacksmith shops, fire departments, and similar 
places furnish excellent material upon which to base 
silent-reading lessons. One exercise may be devoted to 
planning the trip, another to relating what was learned 
during the visit. The following specimen lesson was 
planned for a second-grade class one spring day. 

As the children were much interested in the change 
of nature which indicated the coming of spring, the 
teachers suggested that the class make a trip to the 
woods to look for signs of spring. The sentences given 
below were written on the blackboard, then exposed one 
at a time for a few seconds, to serve as a silent-reading 
drill. 

Before the Trip 

We shall go to the woods to look for signs of spring. 

Shall we follow the road or the stream? 

Do we need our caps and coats? 

Let us go through the halls quietly. 

Are we all ready? 

Stand. 

Jack, lead your group. 

Mabel, lead your group. 



SUPPLEMENTARY EXERCISES 245 

After the Trip 

Which group reached the wdods first? 

What did Olive see just as we started? 

What was the bird doing? 

Would you call that a sign of spring? 

What did we notice when we reached the brook?" 



It has not rained this week. Where do you suppose 

the water came from? 
What happened to David's toy boat? 
Why did he not wade in to get it? 
Who first found the pussy willows? 
Where were they growing? 
What did we do with them? 
What other signs of spring did we see? 

Exercise XIII: Missing Word Drills 

Classroom work may be correlated with reading les- 
sons in many ways, one being indicated by the exercise 
described below. Such drills may be used even in first- 
grade classes. They furnish an accurate measure of 
children's ability to comprehend. 

Second-grade pupils who had been studying Indian 
life made an Indian camp which they equipped with 
^as many objects as they could make. Cards similar 
to the following were then flashed before the class. The 
pupils answered by supplying the missing word. 

Indians lived in . 



They made their homes of 

They hunted with . 

The Indians made arrows of 

The Indian hunters killed many 



246 SILENT READING 



They used the meat for 
The skins were used for 



Exercise XIV: True-false Drill 
Children's ability to comprehend may be qnicky de- 
termined by flashing sentences, some of which are true, 
others false, and requiring them to give their answers 
to the statements. Such exercises should be based only 
on material which is of value and interest to the pupils. 
Lessons which deal vrith foods, clothing, the care of 
the teeth and eyes, saving money, and similar topics 
are not only of value for what they contain, but they 
furnish excellent reviews of work already done in na- 
ture study, hygiene, geography, and other subjects. 
Such exercises as those described below have an addi- 
tional value in that they enable the teacher to deter- 
mine whether the child's thinking about a subject is 
right or wrong. If wrong, the teacher has an oppor- 
tunity to correct it. 

The Morning Meal 
We should eat pie for breakfast. 
Porridge and milk is good for us. 
We should always chew our food well. 
We should drink at least two cups of coffee. 
We should never eat oranges or other fruit. 
Eggs make a very good breakfast dish. 
Always eat breakfast quickly, then run to school. 

Personal Hygiene 
We should always sleep with windows tightly closed. 
The living rooms should have plenty of sunshine. 



SUPPLEMENTARY EXERCISES 247 

We should clean our finger nails every morning. 

It is good for us to have damp feet all day. 

We should clean our teeth every morning. 

We should not often take a bath. 

We look better if our hair is not combed. 

We should drink a glass of water before each meal. 

We should all drink from the same cup at school. 

Exercise XY: Current Topics 
Valuable material on important topics of interest to 
primary-grade pupils may "5e found in pamphlets of 
various kinds. The questions given below, which formed 
one of a series of lessons on the house fly, were based 
on an article which the teacher adapted from the In- 
ternational Harvester Company's bulletin, ''Trap the 
Fly." The lessons were presented at a time when all 
the pupils were much interested in devising methods 
of combating the fly. 

The teacher printed a story entitled "Flies and 
Babies" on the blackboard, then asked the pupils to 
read it. Following that she flashed cards bearing ques- 
tions which pupils were to answer if they could. The 
cards were exposed only a few seconds. 

Flies and Babies 
Do you know that flies .make babies sick ? 
They often make the baby so sick that he dies. 
The fly gets into all kinds of filth. 
He eats all kinds of dirty things. 
His legs and body are covered with hairs. 
The dirt sticks to the hairs. 
Then the fly goes into the house. 



248 SILENT READING 

He gets into baby's milk. 

He leaves disease germs there. 

He walks on the nipple of baby's bottle. 

He lights on baby's lips. 

He crawls over baby's hands. 

He leaves dirt every place he goes. 

Often the dirt makes baby sick. 

Let us swat the fly. 

Questions 
How do flies carry dirt and disease germs? 
On what do flies live? 
What does the fly leave on baby's bottle? 
What would you do if you saw a fly in baby's milk? 

Exercise XVI: Hygiene Lessons 
The paragraph below was adapted for use in a class 
of second-grade pupils. It is suggestive of the kind 
of lesson that may be prepared on the following sub- 
jects : The Value of Screens, How to Make a Fly Trap, 
The Fly in Winter. 

Flies 
The fly is a very dangerous insect. It is born in 
garbage piles. It loves dirty places. You may see it 
getting its dinner from garbage pails and other dirty 
places. Its hairy legs and body become covered with 
dirt and filth. Then it flies to the house. It lights 
on our food, gets into the milk, walks over baby's face, 
or over the nipple of his bottle. The fly leaves filth 
wherever he goes. You all know that many babies die 
in hot weather. But do you know that it is often the 
dirty fly that makes them sick. More babies die in 



SUPPLEMENTARY EXERCISES 249 

places that have flies. Swat, trap, or poison every fly 
you see. 

Questions 

Where is the fly borni 

Where does it like to eat? 

How does it carry dirt and germs? 

What does it do in the house? 

Why are flies so dangerous? 

How can we get rid of them? 

Exercise XYII: Children's Diet 
It is sometimes possible to use lessons of the type 
described in Exercises XVI and XVII without adapt- 
ing the material. In such cases the pamphlet is handed 
to the children and they are instructed to read some 
part of it carefully. When they finish, they write an- 
swers to questions which the teacher has prepared and 
written on the blackboard. In using this sort of exer- 
cise, which requires written answers, it is well for the 
teacher so to frame the questions that they may be 
answered with but little writing. 

The specimen lesson given below was based on the 
pamphlet, "Diet for the School Child," issued by the 
extension department of the State University of Iowa. 
It was prepared by Miss Ethel Hale for use in a second- 
grade class at the university elementary school. 

Milk as Food 
Milk is the best and most important food for grow- 
ing children. No other food can take its place. Chil- 
dren over five years of age should have at least three 



250 SILENT READING 

cups- a day, and more when possible. Milk should not 
be given very cold. Warm milk is more easily digested. 
If children do not like milk alone, it may be given 
in the form of cocoa, sonps, and custards. They often 
can learn to like milk. Where it is impossible to get 
fresh milk, evaporated milk may be nsed. If evapo- 
rated skimmed milk is given, give the child plenty of 
vegetables and some cream or bntter. Tea and coffee 
should never be given to .growing children. 

Questions' 

What is the best food for children? 

How much should be taken at each meal? 

Which is better, cold or warm milk? 

Do all children like milk? 

How much coffee should children drink? 

Exercise XVIII: Eiddles 
Riddles and rhymes strongly appeal to children, and 
may profitably be used as the basis for silent-reading 
exercises. The child's answer is an accurate measure 
of his ability to comprehend. In order to prevent the 
brighter pupils from spoiling these riddle lessons with 
their too rapid answers, it is well to ask the cla^s to 
write the answer to a riddle, or to draw a picture of 
the object which it suggests. Riddles and rhymes like 
those below may be found in primers and magazines 
edited for the use of primary-grade teachers. 

(1) 

As round as an apple, 
Far deeper than a cup, 



SUPPLEMENTARY EXERCISES 251 

And all the king's horses 

Can't pull me up. 

"What am I? (A well) 

(2) 
It is golden, it is bright 
And we love its pretty light; 
When it smiles down from on high, 
How the ice and snow do fly! 
What am I? (The spring sun.) 

(3) 
I play out in the woodland 
All summer merrily. 
I swing from swaying branches, 
I leap from tree to tree. 

But when in early autumn, 
The nuts are ripe and brown, 
I go to work in earnest. 
As they come tumbling down. 

I never think of playiiig. 
But work so steadily 
To hide my w^inter store away 
— In wall or hollow tree. 

What am I? {A squirrel.) 

Silent-reading Exercises Based on Seat Work 

Some valuable silent-reading exercises may be based 

on the children's seat work. This plan is especially 

advised if the teacher has several grades in a single 

room and is compelled to give each its share of atten- 



252 SILENT READING 

tion, thus having but little time left for supervision of 
classes not reciting. The following exercises are sug- 
gestive of the sort of work that may be done in silent 
reading under these circumstances. 

Exercise XIX: Nursery Ehymes 

The children's comprehension of poems and nursery 
rhymes found in primers and first readers may be meas- 
ured by having the class read the selection once rapidly, 
then graphically represent what was read. For ex- 
ample, first-grade pupils may be asked to read the fol- 
lowing poem and then draw the picture which it calls 
to mind. 

When I was down beside the sea, 
A wooden spade they gave to me 

To dig the sandy shore. 
My holes were empty like a cup, 
In every hole the sea came up 

Till it could come no more. 

This sort of exercise may be made somewhat more 
difficult by having the pupils read a poem, then use 
colored pencils to represent graphically a number of 
objects mentioned in it, according to instructions placed 
on the blackboard. 

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. 

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. 

Not all the king's horses, 

Not all the king's men. 

Could put Humpt}'' Dumpty back again. 



SUPPLEMENTARY EXERCISES 253 

Directions 

Draw a big Qgg. 

Draw eyes, nose, and mouth on it. 

Draw two legs on the egg and color them black. 

Draw a hat on the top of the egg. 

Color it blue. 

Draw a wall for Humpty Dumpty to sit on. 

The above exercise may be followed by others based 
on the same selection. For example, the teacher may 
write directions for drawing a picture of Humpty 
Dumpty as he fell from the wall. 

Exercise XX : Drill on Phrases and Sentences 

From discarded primers or books of equal difficulty 
cut phrases, clauses, and short sentences found in such 
stories as *'The Three Bears," "Little Red Riding- 
hood," **Jack and the Bean Stalk," the Mother Goose 
rhymes, and others. Mount the passages on small 
squares of manila paper, classify as to difficulty, place 
from ten to twenty-five slips of equal difficulty in an 
envelope, and file the sets of envelopes in a box. 

Let the pupils use this material when they have fin- 
ished 1:heir regular work. They should work in pairs, 
one, playing "teacher," showing the cards to the other. 
Each group must begin with the package of simplest 
phrases, and the contents of each package must be thor- 
oughly mastered before the next envelope is taken up. 
The cards are to be flashed for only a short time and 
each package completed must be constantly reviewed. 



254 SILENT READING 

This exercise may be varied by placing all the words, 
phrases, and sentences of a single story in one envelope, 
then asking the pupils to place those together in such 
order as to reproduce the story. Stories used for this 
sort of exercise must, of course, be very short. 

Exercise XXI : Pictures as Answers 

The teacher may prepare a series of cards on which 
she writes or prints simple questions based on some story 
which children have read and with which they are thor- 
oughly familiar, for example, the story of ''Little Red 
Riding-hood." As a seat-work exercise, children are 
asked to prepare written answers to the questions, or 
to draw pictures that will answer them. The following 
questions are suggestive of the kind that may be used. 

Where was Little Red Riding-hood going? 

Whom did she meet? 

AVas the wolf her friend? 

What did the wolf want? 

Who first reached the grandmother's cottage? 

Pupils will have no difficulty in answering such ques- 
tions, as all needed words appear on the cards displayed 
before the class. 

A similar exercise consists in placing the following 
rhyme on the blackboard and asking the children to 
draw and color the picture which the lines call to mind. 

Robin, he, 
On a tree. 



SUPPLEMENTARY EXERCISES 255 

Saw ripe cherries, 
One, two, three. 

The project work done by second-grade pupils may 
often be made the basis for interesting silent-reading 
exercises and effective comprehension ^drills. Pupils 
of a class that was studying Indian life were making 
miniature wigwams out of sticks and brown paper. By 
writing the following questions on the blackboard, and 
giving no further directions, the teacher conducted a 
profitable exercise in hand work and in silent reading 
at the same time. 

Tie three sticks together. 

Make them stand on your desk. 

Take your brown paper. Cut it to make a covering 

for the wigwam. 
Draw or paint some Indian pictures on the covering. 
Fasten the covering around the sticks. 
Be sure to leave a door. 
Turn the flaps back. 

Exercise XXII : Construction Work 
Construction work in paper cutting and drawing may 
be successfully related to the work in silent reading as 
soon as the pupils pass the earlier stages in which they 
learn to use their tools. When the experimental work 
is completed and they begin to express their own ideas 
in their own way, they usually come to the teacher for 
ideas and suggestions that will help them to make their 
work look better. Such suggestions may be given as 
instructions written on the blackboard. The following 



256 SILENT READING 

instructions were displayed before a first-grade class to 
guide them in making candy boxes for a school enter- 
prise. 

Fold the paper to make sixteen squares. 

Make two cuts on each end, like this. {TJie hlach- 

hoard drawing showed the cuts.) 
Fold the ends in so as to make a box. 
Paste the ends. 

Make a cover in the same way. 
Put the cover on the box. 

A second-grade class that had read the story of ' ' Little 
Black Sambo" followed the directions given below to 
cut a picture of Sambo from colored paper. Before the 
instructions for cutting were shown to the pupils, they 
answered the following questions which were written on 
the blackboard. 

Who was Little Black Sambo? 

"What color was his coatT 

What was the color of his trousers? 

What did he have on his feet? 

Did he wear a hat? 

What did he carry in his hands? 

After the pupils had answered those questions, each 
was given scissors and sheets of colored paper, and the 
following questions were displayed on the blackboard. 

Cut out Little Black Sambo. Make him as tall as 

your paper will let you. 
Cut out the red coat. 
Cut out the blue trousers. 
Paste the coat and trousers on him. 



SUPPLEMENTARY EXERCISES 257 

Cut out his purple shoes. Paste them on his feet. 
Cut out the green umbrella. Make the handle long 

enough. 
Paste it where you think it should go. 

Exercise XXIII : A Bulletin Board 
Much incidental work in silent reading may be done 
by using a bulletin board on which announcements of 
interest to the whole class may be pasted daily. The 
day of the week and the date should be conspicuously 
displayed at the top of the board. The following are 
typical of the kind of announcements that may be used. 

Tomorrow is Fire Prevention Day. We are going 
to visit the fire hall. 

Today is Betty ^s birthday. 

We are going to have visitors today. 

We pack our Red Cross Christmas boxes next Friday. 

Don't forget your gifts. 

Thursday is Thanksgiving Day. We will have a holi- 
day. 

Results versus effort. The preparation of the ex- 
ercises suggested in this chapter, and the arrangement 
and collection of suitable materials, make a considerable 
demand on the teacher's time. Such efforts are well 
repaid, however, by the superior quality of the results 
obtained. 

SUMMARY 

1. Practically all first and second-grade lessons in hygiene, 
home geography, morals, games, social activities, cloth- 
ing, foods, nature study, language, field trips, and hand- 



258 SILENT READING 

work projects may be used as a basis for silent-reading 
drills and exercises. 

2. If materials chosen for tbis work are in written form, 
they should be used as the basis of silent-reading study 
lessons before the drill work is begun. 

3. After pupils have read the material silently they should 
discuss it in class. 

4. Silent-reading drills should be based on the materials 
read and on the class discussion that follows. 

5. Directions for the execution of projects and seat-work 
activities may be made the basis of silent-reading lessons 
and drills. 

6. The fact that silent reading is used for drills and re- 
view further insures comprehension and retention. 

SUGGESTED READINGS 

Burke, A. "First-grade materials and stimuli." Teachers 
College Record, Vol. 20, Columbia University Press, New 
York City, 1919. 

Finley, Ida E. BIackl)oard Work in Reading. Benj. H. 
Sanborn and Company, Chicago, 1913. 

Heller, Regina and Courtis, S. A. "Exercises developed at 
Detroit for making reading function." The Twentieth 
Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Edu- 
cation: Part 11. Public School Publishing Company, 
Bloomington, Illinois, 1921, 

Krackowizer, Alice M. Projects in the Primary Grades. 
J. B. Lippincott and Company, Philadelphia, 1919. 

Moore, A. E. "The use of children's initiative in beginning 
reading." Teachers College Record, Vol. 17, Columbia 
University Press, New York City, 1916. 

"Silent-reading exercises developed at Denver, Cedar Rapids, 
Racine, and Iowa City." The Ttventieth Yearbook of the 
National Society for the Study of Education: Part II. 
Public School Publishing Company, Bloomington, Illinois, 
1921. 



CHAPTER XIII 

SILENT READING IN GRADES III AND IV 

Training' pupils to read silently. Teachers who want 
to obtain the best results from their teaching of reading 
must determine what methods and devices will most 
economically train pupils to concentrate on what they 
read, and to read rapidly with a reasonable degree of 
comprehension. They must encourage pupils to read all 
their lessons according to the plan used during the read- 
ing recitation. They should use many reading periods 
for helping pupils discover the best way to develop good 
reading habits. They must realize that the greatest 
service they can render is so to teach reading that the 
skills and attitudes which pupils develop in the reading 
class will transfer to all their other work. 

In so far as they can, teachers must inspire pupils to 
want to beaome rapid and accurate readers. They must 
help pupils by providing much interesting reading ma- 
terial suitable for each grade, and by using material 
found outside of textbooks as a basis for discussion dur- 
ing the reading recitation and the oral-English period. 

Aside from this definite training in silent reading, 
there are other important factors which affect the estab- 
lishment of economical study habits. The child's mental 

259 



260 SILENT READING 

endowment, health, experiences, and environment must 
not be ignored. Although a pnpil's progress in reading 
depends largely upon his mental capacity and the effort 
that he puts forth, it may be greatly increased by train- 
ing him in habits of concentration, organization, accur- 
acy, and rapidity. Many teachers say that their pupils 
can not concentrate. Perhaps they hold that opinion 
because they have stressed neither the ideal nor ihe 
training necessary to enable children to do those things 
essential to concentration. 

General principles to be observed. The general 
principles to be observed in teaching reading to pupils 
of the third and fourth grades are practically the same 
as those used in the two lower grades. The outstanding 
difference is that word drill and phonic drill may largely 
be dispensed with, and that greater emphasis must be 
placed upon the quantity and variety of material read. 
Progress in silent reading will be assured if the teacher 
establishes a correct attitude toward reading, if she 
carefully uses devices and drills to train pupils in 
effective methods of study, and if she requires much 
reading outside the regular class work. 

The pupil's attitude toward reading is very important. 
If he thinks of the lesson as containing material with 
which he should become familiar, he will accomplish 
much more. Psychology has shown the influence of 
the will when doing a thing. If the pupil desires to 
become a proficient reader, the methods employed dur- 
ing the class period will be much more effective. 



GRADES THREE AND FOUR 261 

The teacher's problem is to make class training func- 
tion as a general reading habit. She mnst provide pupils 
with much outside reading material and encourage and 
require them to use it. She must keep the -ideals of 
speed and concentration constantly before the class, and 
she must help pupils acquire those abilities. 

Types of reading ability. The teacher of silent 
reading usually finds three types of readers in each 
class, — ■ rapid, medium-rate, and slow. By grouping the 
pupils on the basis of speed she can expedite her work 
and make it more effective. Whenever there is a wide 
difference in the abilities of pupils, the teacher should 
form at least two groups. 

The difference in reading rate of members of the same 
class makes it difficult to provide exercises which are of 
benefit to all. Slow readers are likely not to try because 
they realize the futility of competing against more gifted 
classmates ; rapid readers, not being compelled to work 
under pressure, tend to become lazy. Both groups are 
injured. To prevent this condition, and to attain maxi- 
mum results from pupils of each group, the teacher must 
use plans specially designed to accomplish those ends. 
Such plans are suggested on the following pages. 

Need for individual treatment. Teachers often find 
pupils whose difficulties need personal attention. Chil- 
dren who have much difficulty in learning to read are 
often advanced from grade to grade without having their 
needs carefully studied. If such pupils are discovered, 
the teacher should endeavor to determine the difficulty, 



262 SILENT READING 

and having done so she should give the pupil such assist- 
ance as will enable him to work with the group. She 
should point out the handicaps entailed by bad reading 
habits, and she should suggest remedial measures. 

If pupils who pronounce audibly or whisper when they 
read are allowed to persist in those habits, they will 
probably never become rapid readers because they read 
only one word at a time. The teacher can help such 
children overcome those habits by having them place the 
finger on the lips as a check, whenever they observe that 
they are moving the lips. Repeated suggestions will also 
help pupils to refrain from using the finger to indicate 
the words being read, another pernicious habit. The 
names of pupils who succeed in controlling such ten- 
dencies may be placed on honor rolls as an incentive to 
continued effort. 

Types of silent-reading material. Pupils in third 
and fourth-grade silent-reading classes may use the sub- 
ject-matter contained in the ordinary school readers, 
geographical primers, historical and biographical 
sketches, simple accounts of civic and industrial activi- 
ties, material relating to class projects such as making a 
garden, sewing, etc., and such subject-matter as may be 
found in pamphlets dealing with ''The Child's Food," 
*' Fresh Air," ''Penny Savings," and like topics. Lists 
of books and pamphlets suitable for this work may be 
found in the Appendix (pages 357-381). 

How to use silent-reading material. The kinds of 
material listed above may be used either for purposes of 



GRADES THREE AND FOUR 263 

class reading and discussion, or as the basis of drill exer- 
cises. Not every reading period, however, should be 
devoted to strenuous, intensive speed and comprehension 
drills. Although such exercises are given prominence in 
the specimen lessons which follow, teachers should not 
conclude that that phase of instruction is most import- 
ant. Such exercises have been suggested only because 
they are usually badly needed. 

Class discussion of silent reading. Reading and 
discussing the good literature to be found in school read- 
ers and choice children's books is not beyond the ability 
of third and fourth-grade pupils. Such discussion is of 
marked social value. Reading such literature inspires 
children to be better and to do more, and gives them a 
better conception of their relationship to one another. 
In all such discussion, however, moralizing must be care- 
fully avoided. Let the pupils themselves determine the 
motives of the characters and call attention to the conse- 
quences of various courses of action. Encourage pupils 
to "compare and contrast the story's characters and epi- 
sodes with others with which they are familiar. Encour- 
age them to enliven the discussion with accounts of their 
own experiences, in so far as those bear upon the topic. 
The primary aim of all this work is to have pupils think, 
estimate, judge, and infer. 

The type study of ^' Queen Mab" presented below 
gives an idea of the method that teachers may use to 
make a silent-reading assignment the basis for a class 
discussion. In this work the pupils should use about 



264 SILENT READING 

half the recitation period for reading the selection 
silently, merely to experience the joy of reading. The 
remainder of the time may then be used for discussion. 
Pupils should be led to talk about the characters and 
leading episodes of the selection, to point out the climax 
of the story, and to select the most beautiful or dramatic 
parts. They should be asked to explain why they like 
the story, and to tell which part most appeals to them. 
Several children should orally read the paragraph that 
answers the questions being discussed. That sort of oral 
reading is pupil-motivated. It tends to be well done 
because pupils try to read so as to convince the class 
audience. During the last few minutes of the reading 
period teacher and pupils may select the main points 
of the lesson, then make an outline or summary of the 
whole. At times pupils should indicate the chief thought 
in the lesson and discuss it in its relation to all the other 
ideas. 

Type Study: A Poem 
Queen Mab^ 

A little fairy comes at night, 

Her eyes are blue, her hair is brown, 

With silver spots upon her wings, 
And from the moon she flutters down. 

She has a little silver wand. 
And when a good child goes to bed, 

iFrom the Story Hour Readers: BooJc Three published by the 
American Book Company, Cincinnati. 



GRADES THREE AND FOUR 265 



She waves her hand from right to left, 
And makes a circle round its head. 

And then it dreams of pleasant things - 
'Of fountains filled with fairy fish, 

And trees that bear delicious fruit, 
And bow their branches at a wish. 

Of arbors filled with dainty scents 
From lovely flowers that never fade ; 

Bright flies that glitter in the sun, 
And glowworms shining in the shade. 

And talking birds with gifted tongues. 
For singing songs and telling tales. 

And pretty dwarfs to show the way 
Through fairy hills and fairy dales. 



But when a bad child goes to bed. 

From left to right she weaves her rings, 

And then it dreams all through the night 
Of ugly, horrid things ! 

Then lions come with glaring eyes, 
And tigers growl, a dreadful noise, 

And ogres draw their cruel knives. 
To shed the blood of girls and boys. 

Then stormy waves rush on to drown, 
Or raging flames come scorching round. 

Fierce dragons hover in the air, 

And serpents crawl along the ground. 

Then wicked children wake and weep, 
And wish the long black gloom away; 



266 SILENT READING 

But good ones love the dark, and find 
The night as pleasant as the day. 

I. During the study period the children should 
read the entire poem. If they wish, they should 
read it more than once. Children are entitled 
to some of the satisfaction that comes from self- 
directed activity. They must have abundant 
opportunity to practice, if they are ever to learn 
to read on their own initiative or merely for 
pleasure and profit. 

II. Write the following questions on the blackboard 
and ask the pupils to use the silent-reading work 
as a preparation for answering them, 

1. What do you know about the fairy? 

2. Just what does the fairy do when she comes 

to the bedside of a good child? 

3. What good things does the child dream 

about ? 

4. How many stanzas tell of those good things ? 
. 5. How does the fairy wave her wand over a 

good child? How does she wave it over a 
bad one? 

6. Tell, in order, all the things that a bad child 

dreams about. How many lines tell of the 
bad things? 

7. What difference does this make to children 

when they are in the dark? 

8. Into how many parts is this story divided? 

HI. Have a different pupil read each of the parts 
aloud. 



GRADES THREE AND FOUR 267 

Type Study: A Prose Selection 
Narcissus^ 

On day Narcissus had been hunting in the forest till 
he was tired and thirsty. He came to a fountain where 
the water was as clear as crystal. The rocks sheltered 
it from the sun, the grass grew fresh around it, and 
not a leaf fell to disturb the surface. 

(11) 

The handsome youth stooped to drink and saw his 
image in the water. He did not know it as himself, 
but thought it was some beautiful water-nymph who 
lived in the fountains. He gazed with pleasure at the 
bright eyes and curly locks, the rounded cheeks and 
parting lips. He forgot his hunt. He forgot everything. 
He could only gaze at his own image. 

(Ill) 

All day long he begged the beautiful creature to 
come out of the water. More than once he plunged 
into the fountain to meet it, but the moment he touched 
the water the image disappeared. Then he talked to it. 
''Beautiful nj^mph," he would say, ''why do you shun 
me? You smile at me, and when I stretch forth my 
arm, you do the same. Will you not come to me?'' 
The lips parted, but no sound came forth. 

(IV) 

Day after day, and night after night, he sat on the 
banks and gazed at the image. He saw the face in 
the water grow pale, and his own face grew white, and 

^This selection appears in the Fourth Reader of the Free and 
Treadwell Reading-Literature Series published by Row, Peter- 
son and Company. Chicag"o. 

^These subdivisions. (I), (II), (III), and (IV), are merely 
for convenience in referring to the questions based on this selec- 
tion. They do not, of course, appear in the textbook. 



268 SILENT READING 

his yellow hair fell over his hollow cheeks. At last 
his breath floated awa}^ and there, instead of a beau- 
tiful nj'^mph, stood a flower, gazing with bent head into 
the crystal fountain. In his memory the flower bears 
his name. 

I. Let the pupils read this story for pleasure dur- 
ing a study period. Do not question them or 
give them any directions. 

II. During the study period, or a continuation of 
it, pupils should prepare to answer the follow- 
ing questions : 

1. How many parts does this story have? 

2. What is told in the first part? (The an- 

swers of the pupils should include all the 
facts in proper sequence.) 

3. Why does the story tell that the fountain 

was clear? sheltered from the sun? sur- 
rounded by grass? undisturbed? 

4. What can you call this part of the story? 

{Tlie introduction.) 

5. Eelate the second part of the story. 

6. Plad the youth ever used a mirror? 

7. What expressions of the story help us to 

picture this boy? 

8. What was the effect of his image on him? 

9. Te"'l the third part of the story in detail. 

10. Why did the image disappear when the boy 

touched the water? 

11. How do you account for the boy's smile? 

12. Explain: ''The lips parted, but no sound 

came forth." 

13. What can you call the fourth part of the 

story? {The conclusion.) 



GRADES THREE AND FOUR 269 

14. How do yon aecoimt for the boy's seeing 

his image at night? 

15. Why did the face in the water grow pale? 

16. Explain: ''his breath floated away;" ''gazing 

with bent head." 

17. Which part of the story do yon consider 

most interesting? At what point do yon 

become less interested? 
III. At the conclusion of the work ontlined above, 
the story shonld be read by fonr pnpils, each 
of whom reads one of the parts. One pnpil 
may then tell the entire story. 

Study lessons in geography. History and geography 
assignments fnrnish a good opportnnity for teaching 
pnpils how to stndy effectively. The factnal natnre of 
the material makes it an easy matter to test children's 
comprehension of what they have read. That shonld, of 
course, be done. 

Teachers too often make assignments merely by say- 
ing, "Read from page so and so to page this or that." 
The pnpils do as they are directed, but when they come 
to class they either are nnable to tell what they have 
read, or they cannot discriminate among the many facts 
that they have acquired. This is a wrong state of affairs 
which may be remedied even in the third grade. The 
teacher can teach pnpils of that grade that studying is 
really a process of selecting and evaluating. Such 
instruction should be given by means of a proper assign- 
ment. 

The following type study is based on a selection 



270 SILENT READING 

entitled ''Leather and Its Uses."^ Preceding the silent 
reading of the lesson the teacher had the class discuss 
the topic. The children were asked to enumerate the 
articles made of leather which might be found in the 
schoolroom, for example, shoes, coats, pencil cases, chair 
seats, etc. They were asked to tell what they knew 
about leather, to name the different kinds, to tell where 
and how it is obtained, and how prepared for use. Fol- 
lowing that, the teacher displayed a list of questions on 
the blackboard, explained that the answers to them 
might be found in the geography lesson, and asked the 
children to read the questions and then the geography 
aassignment. They were directed to answer as many 
questions as possible when they had finished their read- 
ing, and to refer to the textbook for the answers they 
could not remember. ^ 

Type Study : A Geography Lesson 

Leather and Its Uses 

The coats that are worn by cattle, sheep, and other 
animals are called skins. After these skins have been 
tanned, they are called leather. 

Many articles of clothing are made of leather. Let 
us name some of them. Boots, shoes, coats, caps, aprons, 
belts, gloves, and mittens are the most important. Have 
you ever seen anyone wearing an apron of leather? 

Besides those of sheep and cattle, the skins of goats, 
deer, horses, dogs, kangaroos, alligators, and of some 
other animals are made into leather. Calfskin makes 

^This extract is taken from L. F. Chamberlain's Hoiv We Are 
Clothed (pp. 99-103), published by The Macmillan Company, 
New York City. 



GRADES THREE AND FOUR 271 

the best shoes for men and boys. Only the skin from 
the under side of an alligator's body can be used. Can 
yon tell why? 

A place where skins are tanned is called a tannery. 
An acid obtained from the bark of the oak, hemlock, 
and some other trees is much used in tanning. On 
this account tanneries are often found where these 
trees grow in abundance. There are other things 
also that are used in tanning. 

Let us visit a tannery and see hoAV the work is 
done. Here are great quantities of skins or hides. 
Some of them have come from the cities where large 
numbers of animals are killed for food. Can you name 
any of these cities? Some come from Mexico and 
some from the plains of South America. 

The hides are placed in large vats partly filled Avith 
a liquid containing lime. This liquid loosens the hair, 
which is afterward scraped off with a blunt instru- 
ment. The lime is now washed off by throwing the 
hides into the water. Here is another man scraping 
the skins. He is removing bits of flesh that were left 
clinging to them. 

You have often noticed the pores in the skin on 
the back of your hand. The perspiration comes 
through the pores. There are pores in the skins of the 
lower animals, too. In order to open the pores of 
the skins, so that the tannic acid may enter and tan 
them, the skins are soaked in a certain liquid. 

If you have ever had a blister on your hand, you 
have noticed that the skin consists of two layers. The 
skin of the lower animals consists of two layers also. 
The inner layer, or derma, is made up partly of a 
jellylike substance. Tanning hardens this and makes 
the leather wear Avell. If it were not for the tanning, 
shoes made of leather would not be very valuable, 
for they would soon wear out. After the skins have 
been dried, they are pressed between great rollers 



272 SILENT READING 

to make them smooth. A hundred years ago tanning 
hides required many months. Now it is done much 
more quickly. 

Shoes and other things made of leather are of dif- 
ferent colors. This is because the leather is colored. 
It is not dyed as cloth is, but the color is put on with 
a brush. 

Kid gloves are made from the skins of young goats 
and lambs. 

Questions 

1. What is the difference between skins and 

leather 1 

2. Who wears a leather apron? 

3. What is the best skin to use for boys' slices^ 

4. Why are tanneries often found near oak or hem- 

lock groves? 

5. Why are the hides placed in lime? 

6. What acid is used to tan leather? 

7. What is the inner layer of skin like? 

8. What does tanning do to it? 

9. How is the leather colored? 

10. How is cloth colored? 

11. What is made from the skin of young lambs? 

Another effective way to encourage discriminating 
reading is to allow pupils to read a selection in any way 
they wish, first informing them that they will be expected 
to answer a list of questions when they have finished. 
The questions used should be such as may be answered 
in few words. Pupils should write the answers as they 
are read,^ then exchange papers for correction. This is 
a rapid method of handling such work ; so done, it may 
be finished in a few minutes. 



GRADES THREE AND FOUR 273 

After pupils have had considerable practice in reading 
for the purpose of finding answers to questions, they 
may be allowed to read a selection with a view to making 
their own list of questions. These questions should be 
freely criticised by the class, so that all may be assured 
that the main ideas have not been overlooked. 

Continuous questioning. The continuous question 
method may be used to develop purposeful reading 
habits. Pupils should be instructed to open their books 
at a given page, but to do no reading until the teacher 
announces the signal. The latter should explain that 
she will ask a question about every thirty seconds, and 
that the pupils are to find the answers as they read. 
Pupils should read as rapidly as possible, keeping as far 
ahead of the teacher as they can. At the end of two 
minutes the teacher calls time, each child marks the last 
word he read, and the class discussion folloAvs. The 
teacher's rate of questioning should correspond to the 
reading rate of the pupils. In such drill exercises, pupils 
of about the same reading ability should be grouped 
together. ^ 

Class-project lessons. Project work of almost any 
kind may be used as a basis for silent-reading work in 
the third and fourth grades. The teacher should care- 
fully prepare her questions and directions so as to avoid 
any misunderstanding by the pupils. The questions 
should always be written on the blackboard before the 
class period begins. They may be covered if it is in- 
advisable for the pupils to see them in advance. 



274 



SILENT READING 



Charting' results of comprehension tests. Children 
take great interest in making" charts that show the results 
of comprehension tests, whether such charts indicate the 
scores of an entire class or of a single pupil. Individual 
charts showing weekly progress are very stimulating. 




Figure 4 



GRADES THREE AND FOUR 275 

The pupils should be allowed to ask questions, if they 
do not understand the teacher's directions for prepar- 
ing these charts, but since comprehension is tested by 
the ability to interpret, it is well to encourage them to 
be independent and self-reliant. After a little practice, 
pupils learn to follow directions accurately and to make 
very neat charts. (See the specimen chart on page 274.) 
The following directions were given to a fourth-grade 
class which was to chart the results of a comprehension 
test in silent reading. The teacher had already con- 
structed some charts on the blackboard and on large 
sheets of charting paper, as an introduction to the work 
that the pupils were to do independently. Each pupil 
was supplied with a sheet of charting paper ruled in 
half-inch squares, each of those containing tAventy-five 
smaller squares. They used soft colored crayons to 
mark their charts. When all was ill readiness to begin, 
the folloAving questions written on the blackboard were 
displayed, and the children were asked to follow them. 

1. Yesterday we took a silent-reading test. Today 

we shall chart the results. 

2. A colored column will represent each pupil's 

score. 

3. Make each column three small squares wide. 

Leave a space two small squares wide between 
columns. 

4. l\rark off one small square of height for every 

point that a pupil made. 

5. The height of a column will indicate the pupil's 

score in points. 



276 SILENT READING 

6. Print the pupil's initials below tlie column that 

indicates his score. 

7. If you had made a perfect score your grade 

would have been 60. 

8. The following- scores were made : 



Earnest P. 


22 


Esther W. 


26 


Jack L. 


31 


Evelyn C. 


34 


Olive B. 


38 


Fred C. 


45 


Mabel F. 


49 


Bruce G. 


49 


Roy S. 


52 


Clara M. 


54 



9. At the left-hand side, start at the bottom and 
go up along the margin, numbering the small 
squares by 5's so that it will be easier to 
count them off. 

10. Draw a column 5 squares wide and 60 squares 

high. That will show what a perfect score 
looks like. Color the column bright red. 
Print "Perfect Score" very neatly at the bot- 
tom of the column. 

11. Color all other columns blue. Leave a space 

of five small squares, then draw a column to 
represent Earnest's score. Be sure to make 
it 22 squares high and 3 squares wide. Place 
Earnest's initials, ''E. P.," at the bottom. 

12. Now make the other nine columns, then let us 

see whose chart looks best. 

13. You must always make a chart so that anybody 

can read it and interpret it. Let us label ours. 



GRADES THREE AND FOUR 277 

At the top of your paper print "Comprehen- 
sion Scores in Silent Reading: Grade IV." 

Organizing the lesson. In addition to the lesson 
plans that incidentally give training in organization, the 
teacher should conduct special drills which will train 
pupils to organize. Upper-grade and high-school teach- 
ers realize that pupils lack the ability to organize, and 
that they are handicapped in consequence. Often, how- 
ever, they are not inclined to give pupils much help in 
organization because it is claimed that such educational 
spoon feeding makes children dependent on the teacher. 
This is hardly the case, but if the teacher has any such 
fear she may vary the exercises designed to teach lesson 
organization so that considerable demand is sure to be 
made on the pupils. 

There are many devices which may be used to train 
children in lesson organization. The teacher may require 
pupils to relate a story which they have just read, the 
class checking the accuracy of the oral reproduction. 
Problem assignments are effective. In making a fourth- 
grade assignment on some subject, for example, on "Cot- 
ton," the teacher may explain in advance that the lesson 
discusses certain main topics, among them, the source of 
the cotton supply and the method of producing the crop. 
In the following day's discussion the teacher should 
insist that each child's organization of the lesson be 
based on those two topics. A third plan for drill in 
lesson organization is to ask pupils to read the entire 



278 SILENT READING 

lesson, decide on two or three main points of the assign- 
ment, then outline the whole as a class exercise. 

Training pupils to retain. Helping pupils to retain 
what they read presents serious difficulties even to the 
best teachers. Every scientific study including a de- 
layed-recall test has shown that even within a week's 
time children forget much of what they read. Such 
studies indicate that frequent reviews of essential topics 
included in an assignment will aid children to retain. 

Careful and thorough lesson organization helps pupils 
to retain lesson content, because making a logical, well- 
organized outline enables them to see parts in their 
relation to the whole. A good lesson organization implies 
the association of minor points under their proper head- 
ings, and that in turn means that the pupil has had to 
concentrate on what he read, and that he has had to 
review the main points of the lesson in order to make a 
proper evaluation. 

SUMMARY 

1. The subject-matter of silent reading in the third and 
fourth grades should include the material contained in 
the history, hygiene, and geography textbooks as well 
as that in the readers ordinarily used. 

2. The material selected may be used for silent-reading 
and subsequent class discussion and as the basis for 
drill exercises to promote speed and comprehension, 

3. Satisfactory methods which will motivate purposeful and 
rapid silent reading include having pupils (a) read 
intensively for two minutes, then discuss the material 
read; (6) "race" to answer questions asked by the 
teacher; (c) read a story within a time limit, then 



GRADES THREE AND FOUR 279 

undergo a comprehensive test; (d) read the entire story 
with one or more objectives in mind. 
4. Silent-reading lessons and drills should create a proper 
attitude toward reading. They should lead the pupil 
to see that the subject-matter contains interesting ma- 
terial which he will enjoy. They should provide drill 
exercises which will promote concentration and pur- 
poseful reading, and they should encourage much read- 
ing outside of class. 

SUGGESTED READINGS 

r 

Earhart, Lida B. "An experiment in teaching children to 
study." Education, Vol. 30, 1909. 

Greene, H. A. "Measuring comprehension of content ma- 
terial." The Tive7iUetJi Yearljook of the National Society 
for the Stiidij of Education: Part II. Public School Pub- 
lishing Company, Bloomington, Illinois, 1921. 

Hoover, J. H. "Motivated drill work in third-grade silent 
reading." The Twentieth Yearbook of the National Society 
for the Study of Education: Part II. Public School Pub- 
lishing Company, Bloomington, Illinois, 1921. 

"New materials for the primary grades." The Twentieth 
Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Educa- 
tion: Part II. Public School Publishing Company, Bloom- 
ington, Illinois, 1921. 

Nessle, Fannie B. "A silent-reading project: Fourth grade." 
Journal of Educational Method, Vol. 1, (December) 1921. 

Scranton, Clara. "An exceptional group in reading: Grade 
IV." Journal of Educational Method, Vol. 2 (October) 
1922. 

Stone, C. R. Silent and Oral Beading. Houghton Mifflin and 
Company, Boston, 1922. 

Sutherland, A. H. "Correcting school disabilities in read- 
ing." Elementary School Journal, Vol. 22, (January) 1921. 

Wilson, Estaline. "Specific teaching of silent reading." 
Elementary School Journal, Vol. 22, (October) 1921. 



CHAPTER XIV 

SILENT READING IN GRADES V AND VI 

Silent readings in intermediate grades. Although 
educators do not agree on the time when silent reading 
should be introduced into the primary grades, they are 
almost unanimous in saying that it should be empha- 
sized in the fourth grade and those above. The more 
advanced the grade, the less difficult it is for the teacher 
to select suitable material and devise effective exercises. 

Subject-matter of silent reading*. Fifth and sixth- 
grade teachers should readily be able to obtain an 
abundance of material for use in silent-reading classes. 
They may use the subject-matter of the ordinary read- 
ers, of geography, history, hygiene, and nature-study 
textbooks, and of pamphlets that treat of topics which 
are important to the child. 

How to use silent-reading material. The materials 
suggested may be used either for silent-reading lessons 
which are followed by class discussion, or as the basis 
of effective silent-reading drill exercises. 

Half a recitation period may profitably be used for 
reading an assignment silently. Most pupils find much 
pleasure in such silent reading. The remainder of the 
period may be spent discussing those characters and 

280 



GRADES FIVE AND SIX 281 

incidents of the story whicli appeal most strongly to 
the children. 

Another effective plan, which may be "ased in classes 
studying pnrely literary material, is to have pupils read 
their lessons with a view to determining which parts are 
most beautiful and expressive. When differences of 
opinion arise, as they surely will, each should read his 
paragraph aloud, then give the reasons for his choice. 
Such oral reading is thereby pupil-motivated, because 
the child feels that he must present his passage to the 
class audience in such fashion that others will feel the 
emotions which he feels, and visualize the scenes as he 
visualizes them. 

During the last few minutes of the silent-reading 
period, teacher and pupils should analyze the material 
read in order to select the chief incidents and to deter- 
mine which statement contains the central thought of the 
selection. That done, the pupils should make sum- 
maries or outlines of the selection. Such exercises fur- 
nish excellent practice in learning to discriminate among 
points of major and minor importance, a valuable abil- 
ity which pupils should acquire as early as possible. 
The pupils should receive the teacher's help and 
guidance throughout the work, however, because organ- 
izing is a complex process. Not until later should they 
be asked to work independently. 

The style and content of the selections usually found 
in readers prepared for the upper grades offer an oppor- 
tunity to develop a wholesome taste for reading matter 



282 SILENT READING 

of the better kind. Keading good literature and dis- 
cussing it in the classroom gives many children their 
first true conception of others, and often inspires to 
deeds of altruism. Those who realize the power of sug- 
gestion in child life well know the importance of good 
reading matter. 

Pupils should be allowed fully to discuss the motives 
that may have prompted the characters of the story to 
play their roles as they did. In so far as possible they 
should think out the causes and effects of the incidents 
related. The teacher should promote such discussion 
by well-chosen questions, and she should encourage 
pupils to relate their personal experiences which seem 
to bear a relation to the material being discussed. 

Specimen silent-reading lessons. On the following 
pages we suggest methods for handling such represent- 
ative selections, typical of the material found in the 
best textbooks. The plans outlined are designed to 
develop an appreciation of good literature and to help 
pupils obtain more real pleasure from their reading and 
re-reading of prose and poetry usually assigned. The 
teacher should never lose sight of the chief aim of all 
such work, namely, to help pupils get the greatest pos- 
sible amount of pleasure from their reading. 

In many instances, and especially when a story has a 
historical setting, as has the tale of Kobin Hood,^ it is 

^This story of Robin Hood is taken from the Fifth Reader 
of the Free and Treadwell Reading-Literature Series. The entire 
story is not given. Only those paragraphs on which we based 
the questions of the specirnen lesson have been presented here. 



GRADES FIVE AND SIX 283 

well for the teacher to give a brief introduction before 
pupils undertake to read the selection from their books. 
In this case, the introduction should consist of some 
account of the conditions that obtained in the days of 
the legendary Kobin Hood, the inequality of the classes, 
the attitude of the peasants towards the rich and of the 
rich towards the peasants, the role of the ruler, and the 
prevailing notions of justice and fair play. As a motive 
for reading the story, the teacher may explain that it is 
an account of a band of merry outlaws and the experi- 
ences that they had. 

Type Study: A Prose Selection 

Robin Hood, the Archer Hero 

Long years ago, when good King Harry ruled, there 
lived a famous archer, Robin Hood by name. He 
abode in the depths of the great Sherwood Forest, 
on the border of Nottingham town. There roved 
with him some seven score merry men. 

And this is how Robin Hood fell afoul of the law 
and had to live in the forest. 

When Robin was about fifteen, strong of body and 
brave of heart, a shooting match was set by the sheriff 
of Nottingham, who offered a prize of forty marks 
to him who w^ould shoot the best shaft in Notting- 
hamshire. 

*4& •92. ^ J& 4S. J& ^ 

w -s? ^ ^ ^ t/p w 

Then up spoke Robin right merrily, ''Our king hath 
provided a shooting match at Nottingham, and I'm 
ready with my bow.'* 

''What ho!" cried the forester in scorn, "how can 



284 SILENT READING 

a boy so young bear a bow? Why, he is not able 
to draw one string." 

"I'll wager you twenty marks," cried Robin, "that 
I'll hit a mark at a hundred rods." "Whereat all the 
men in green garb roared with laughter. 

*^ M. Mf ^ ^ M, ^^ 

W W W ^ W ^f W 

Then Robin gripped his bow and let fly a broad 
arrow. On it sped to the border of the glade and 
the noblest hart of the herd leaped high in the air 
and fell dead. 

^t, M^ M, M» ^ ,iU M^ 4f^ 

"Ha!" cried Robin, "What think ye of that shot? 
The wager is mine even were it a thousand pounds." 

All the foresters arose shouting with anger, "Get 
thee gone, thou has killed the king's deer. By King 
Harry, thou shouldst lose thy ears." 

Questions 

1. Why did the foresters encourage Robin Hood 

to shoot at the deer? 

2. Do you think Robin Hood was boastful? 

3. What do you think of the vows of Robin Hood's 

band? 

4. Do you like Little John? Why? 

5. Did you ever read or hear of beggars like these ? 

Should we refuse to help beggars today? If 
you were to help them, how would you do it? 

Type Study: A Poem^ 

The Bell of Atri 

At Atri in Abruzzo, a small town 

Of ancient Roman date, but scant renown, — . 

One of those little places that have run 

iThis study is based on Longfellow's "The Bell of Atri" which 
appears in the Fifth Reader of the Free and Treadwell Reading- 
Literature Series published by Row, Peterson and Company, Chi- 
cago. The entire poem is not reproduced. Only those portions 
on which we based the questions of the specimen lesson have 
been given. 



GRADES FIVE AND SIX 285 

Half up the hill, beneath a blazing sun, 

And then sat down to rest, as if to say, 

^'I climb no further upward, come what may," — 

The Ee Giovanni, now unknown to fame. 

So many monarchs since have borne the name. 

Had a great bell hung in the market place 

Beneath a roof, projecting some small space. 

By way of shelter from the sun and rain. 

Then rode he through the streets with all his train, 

And, with the blast of trumpets loud and long, 

Made proclamation, that whenever wrong 

Was done to any man, he should but ring 

The great bell in the square, and he, the king, 

Would cause the syndic to decide thereon. 

Such was the proclamation of King John. 

*jfe .^g. ^ .jg, .s^ .at, .88, 

*«• "JS" Ti* 'Tr w w w 

By chance it happened that in Atri dwelt 
A knight, with spur on heel and sword in belt, 
Who loved to hunt the wild boar in the woods. 
Who loved his falcons with their crimson hoods. 
Who loved his hounds and horses, and all sports 
And prodigalities of camps and courts, — 
Loved, or had loved them; for at last grown old, 
His only passion was the love of gold. 

Making the Assignment 

I. Read the entire poem carefully, keeping in mind 

the questions mentioned under heading III. 
II. Find the meanings of all unfamiliar words. 
III. Answer the following questions : 

1. Do you like this story? Why? 

2. In what ways does this poem remind you 

of the story of '* Black Beauty"? 

3. Do our dumb friends now need a bell of 

justice like the Bell of Atri? 



286 SILENT READING 

4. How can we help to secure more humane 
treatment for dumb animals? 

Directions for Class Study 

I. Read the sentence included in the first eleven 
lines. When you finish^ indicate by looking 
toward the teacher. Wait quietly until all 
are through. 

1. What is a good title or subject for this 

sentence ? 

2. What part of the sentence is expressed in 

the most pleasing way? 

3. Why do you think so? 

II. Read the second sentence silently. When you 
finish, indicate as before. 

1. What is the main idea of this sentence? 

2. What was the proclamation? 

3. Did it cost anything to claim justice in 

this way? 

4. Did a poor man have as much chance to 

obtain justice in the court as the rich 
man had? 

5. Would a free court be good for the people 

now? Explain fully. 
III. Read the next paragraph silently, as before. 

1. What title might we give this paragraph? 

2. What kind of life had the knight lived? 

3. How did his selfishness show itself in his 

old age? 

The remainder of the poem may be treated in a similar 
manner. In order to vary the exercises, the teacher may 
in some instances ask her questions before the children 
read the paragraph silently. 



GRADES FIVE AND SIX 287 

Directions for Oral Beading 

This selection is good material for oral reading. Al- 
though much of it is ordinary narrative presenting but 
little diiScnlty, the speeches of the various characters 
require careful attention if they are to be read correctly. 
Questions like the following, which direct the pupil's 
attention to the poem, help children to read with proper 
expression. 

1. In what tone of voice would the knight be likely 

to speak the soliloquy at the bottom of page 
46? 

2. What is the feeling of the syndic when he sees 

that a horse is ringing the bell? 

3. In what tone of voice would the syndic pro- 

nounce his judgment? 

4. What feeling does the king express? 

Organizing the Selection 

After the selection has been thoroughly studied accord- 
ing to the plan outlined, it may be used as material for 
teaching pupils to organize. The following suggestions 
to the class will help children to attack the problem of 
organization in such a way that good results are almost 
assured. 

1. Write a summary of each of the parts of the 

poem. The summary should consist of a single 
sentence or phrase. 

2. Group the summaries under three general head- 

ings. 

3. Follow the same plan to outline an account of 

some personal experience. 



288 SILENT READING 

4. Kelate the account of your personal experience 
so that the class may decide whether your 
story is told as clearly and in as orderly fash- 
ion as Long'fellow tells his tale in verse. 

Reading tests. Fifth and sixth-grade reading classes 
should be tested from time to time in order that teacher 
and pupils may learn how thoroughly the reading : 
being done. The information obtained from such tests 
enables the teacher to increase the interest and efforts 
of the pupils and to devise and apply remedial measurep' 
if necessary. The administration of written tests pro-' 
motes habits of thoroughness, because such tests urge 
pupils to read more attentively and to exert greate * 
effort to retain the chief points in the matter which they^ 
read. The maturity of the pupils and the highly factual 
character of the subject-matter are favorable to a con- 
siderable amount of such testing; however, it must not 
be done at a sacrifice of time that should be devoted to 
other school work, nor should it burden the teacher. 

Because pupils tend to regard the many facts of a 
lesson as equally important, the teacher should use the 
study question and the problem assignment to develop 
their powers of discrimination and evaluation. One need 
not expect children to discriminate among major and 
minor topics unless they have been trained to do so. 
Too many teachers forget that the word ' ' assignment ' ' 
literally means ''a pointing of the way," and that every 
good assignment must do that by means of definite direc- 
tions and the explanation of difficult parts of the lesson 



GRADES FIVE AND SIX 289 

about to be attacked. Until pupils have learned how to 
study, the teacher should suggest the central idea and 
important points of every lesson that she assigns. She 
can do that by asking well-directed questions, and by 
having pupils read material that contains the facts which 
enable them to solve a particular problem. 

Adapting the test. The nature of the test that is 
c.sed should in every case be in keeping with the char- 
acter of the material which is being studied. The treat- 
ment of literature, read either to develop or to present 
ertain humanizing and socializing concepts, must differ 
from that accorded scientific subject-matter. Tests based 
■^ purely literary material must be designed to discover 
,w well children are able to grasp ideals and to sense 
emotions. Tests based on the subject-matter of historical 
and scientific textbooks should aim to discover how 
accurately pupils read and how well they comprehend. 
The power to concentrate on what is being read, and the 
ability to do rapid, purposeful reading may be developed 
by using drill exercises based on lesson material. The 
specimen lessons that follow give suggestions for doing 
that sort of work. 

Type Study: A History Lesson 
Abraham Lincoln^ 

Abraham Lincoln was the President during this dark 
time in our nation's history — the Civil War. 

He was not a handsome man, not a scholarly man, 

^This selection is taken from Mara L. Pratt's American History 
Stories (Vol. 4, pp. 5-12) published by the Educational Pub- 
lishing Company, Boston. 



290 SILENT READING 

not a society -mannered man; but a more honest, more 
loyal-hearted, more grand-souled man than Abraham 
Lincoln never stood at the head of our government. 
He was as honest as George Washington, as sturdy 
as Andrew Jackson, as brave as the bravest general, 
and, in the end, as noble as the noblest martyr. 

He had had a hard life as a boy. He had been 
brought up on a farm, first in Kentucky and later in 
Indiana, where he had learned to hoe and to plant, 
to drive oxen, to build a log house, to split rails, to 
fell trees — everything that a farmer boy away out 
in a new country would have to do, this boy had 
done. Indeed, when he was named for President by 
the Republican party, the opposing parties sneered at 
him, calling him a ' ' vulgar rail-splitter, " ' ' an ignorant 
boor, unfit for the society of gentlemen." 

But for all his hoeing and his rail-splitting, for all 
his poverty and his hard labor, for all his rough home 
and his common companions, Abraham Lincoln soon 
proved that he had a something in his head and in 
his heart of which any gentleman might well have 
been proud — a something that a world of fine houses 
and fine clothes could not buy — something which, by 
and by, prompted him to set all the poor black men 
and women in the United States free. 

Although Abraham Lincoln did live in the back- 
woods, and did not go to school, nevertheless, he was 
all this time in the best of society. Fortunately for 
him, his mother was a real lady in heart, and tried 
always to keep her boy from growing up a coarse, 
ignorant '^ rail-splitter," as his party opponents calle^i 
him. She taught him always to keep his eyes open, 
and his mind awake to the beauties about him in na- 
ture. She taught him that it was a noble heart that 
could see Grod in the beautiful flowers, in the birds, 
in the fields, in the forests, and in the waters ; that 
it was the artist's soul that loved to watch the beau- 



GRADES FIVE AND SIX 291 

tiful sunset lights and the deepening shadows ; she 
taught him to read the few books she owned, and 
helped him to earn a few more ; she encouraged his 
love for reading, and was careful that his reading 
was always of the best kind. 

We have suggested five methods of handling this 
material ; the teacher may use any or all of them as the 
needs of the class or the character of the material war- 
rant. Some of the methods may be applied to almost 
any kind of subject-matter likely to be placed before 
fifth and sixth-grade pupils. 

(I) 

The teacher should write on the blackboard a list of 
questions similar to the following and read them with 
the pupils before they undertake to read the assign- 
ment. When that has been done, she should ask the 
class to read the assignment carefully with a view to 
answering the questions. When pupils have written as 
many answers as possible, they should refer to the text- 
book for answers to the questions on which they failed. 

1. What three qualities helped to make Lincoln 

great? 

2. Why did his opponents call him a '^vulgar rail- 

splitter"? 

3. What was the *' something that a world of fine 

houses and fine clothes could not buy"? 

4. Who were Lincoln's teachers? 

5. What three things did his mother teach him? 

(11) 
The following questions of the judgment type are 
sometimes called *' interpretative questions." Although 



292 SILENT READING 

developing habits of alertness and close and rapid read- 
ing, they are valuable because they promote the habit 
of thinking and evaluating without which speed in read- 
ing is of slight value. 

Pupils should silently read the assignment before see- 
ing the questions, then answer as many as possible, 
they may not be as effective as factual questions for 
They may read the selection a second time, if necessary, 
in order to find answers which they could not remem- 
ber from the first reading. The following questions 
are typical of the sort that should be used. 

1. Do you think the hardships that Lincoln ex- 

perienced were influential in making him a 
great man? 

2. Do you think it necessary for all aspiring boys 
and girls to pass through hardships? 

(Ill) 

Discriminating reading may be encouraged by allow- 
ing pupils to read a selection in any manner they choose, 
knowing that they will be asked to write answers to a 
series of questions which will be given to them during 
the recitation period. 

(IV) 

Pupils may be allowed to take sides and ''race" to 
see who can first answer the questions asked by the 
teacher. The side answering the greatest number of 
questions is regarded as the winner. The teacher should 
make sure that the questions used in an exercise of 
this kind have not been made familiar by inclusion in 
previous tests. 

(V) 
Pupils should read a selection once, then prepare 
questions for use in class discussion. The class may 



GRADES FIVE AND SIX 293 

be divided into two groups, one of which originates 
questions to be presented to the other. At the conclu- 
sion of the exercise, teacher and pupils may profitably 
discuss the merit of the questions that were presented. 
An interesting variation of this exercise is to have one 
group of pupils make an outline of the subject-matter 
and present it to the other group for criticism. 

The exercises based on the following geography lesson 
(part of one day's assignment) are suggestive of plans 
that help to increase pupils' speed and increase their 
power to comprehend. Such methods develop purposeful 
reading of assignments in historj^, hygiene, nature study, 
language, and arithmetic. Some teachers use the last 
half of each recitation period to direct the reading of the 
new asignment, having the pupils read the new assign- 
ment with a view to finding answers to study questions 
prepared by the teacher. "When the use of this plan 
has enabled pupils to read a new assignment carefully 
and understandingly, they should undertake to outline 
the subject-matter of the next day's lesson inde- 
pendently. » 

Type Study: A Geography Lesson 

Philadelphia ranks third among the cities of the 
United States in population. Lines of steamships run 
from Philadelphia to the leading seaports of the United 
States and foreign countries, carrying passengers and 
a multitude of products. Because of its nearness to 
the coal fields, Philadelr)hia has become a great ship- 
ping point for coal. The coal and iron have made 
possible the manufacture of cars, heavy machinery, 
and ships. Philadelphia is a great textile manufac- 



294 SILENT READING 

turing center, making especially woolen goods; there 
is much manufacturing of clothing ; and in carpet manu- 
facture. This is the most important city in the country.^ 

(I) 

Before the pupils read the paragraph tell them that 
there are three reasons why Philadelphia is a large 
manufacturing city. Have them read the paragraph 
and then write the reasons without again referring to 
the selection. 

(11) 

Have pupils read the paragraph silently, then outline 
the topic discussed without again referring to the book. 
This method should be used after pupils have had the 
training suggested under heading I. 

(HI) 

Instruct the pupils to read the paragraph through 
once, and afterwards test them to determine whether 
they have grasped the main points of the material read. 
Give two questions based on the chief topics discussed. 
Questions for this paragraph may be: Give three rea- 
sons why Philadelphia is a great manufacturing center. 
Name three articles manufactured in Philadelphia. 
"When the pupils have written the answers to the ques- 
tions, they should exchange papers for correction and 
report the results to the class. 

(IV) 

Ask pupils to write three reasons why Philadelphia 
is a great manufacturing center, then have the class 
read the paragraph in order to see how many reasons 
given were right. 

iThis selection is taken from the Tarr and McMurry Geography: 
Second Book (p. 66) published by The Macmillan Company, 
New York City. 



GRADES FIVE AND SIX 295 

(V) 

Write questions about the subject-matter of the as- 
signment on 3 X 5 cards, placing one question on each 
card. Distribute the cards, placing them face down 
on the desks. Have the class read the assignment. 
When all have finished, have each pupil in turn look at 
his card, read the question aloud to the class, and give 
the answer if possible. 

Type Study: A Lesson in Hygiene 
A silent-reading lesson in hygiene, suitable for use as 
the basis of drill work, was based on a pamphlet which 
the Red Cross Society asked sixth-grade pupils to take 
to their homes during a recent health crusade. After 
devoting two periods to a discussion of the topic **How 
to Be Healthy, ' ' the pupils were told to suggest diseases 
likely to be most prevalent in their community, and to 
tell which of those should be most carefully guarded 
against and cared for. 

After the pupils had agreed that tuberculosis should 
receive a large amount of attention, they were given a 
pamphlet published by the New York State Department 
of Health entitled, ^'What We Should Know About 
Tuberculosis." That was used in conjunction with the 
chapter on the same subject in the class textbook of 
hygiene. Following the silent reading and the study of 
the material, exercises similar to those already suggested 
in this chapter were given as a means of testing the 
pupils to determine how well they understood what they 
read. 



296 SILENT READING 

SUMMARY 

1. It is reasonably easy to teach silent reading to fiftli 
and sixth-grade pupils because they have mastered the 
mechanics of reading and can read extensively. 

2. Because the subject-matter generally used in these grades 
is well organized and rich in highly factual content, 
testing and training pupils to comprehend and organize 
is a relatively simple matter. 

3. In teaching silent reading to pupils of these grades, 
certain selections should be discussed in class in order 
to develop appreciation. Much supplementary work 
should be done, and the teacher should conduct inten- 
sive drills designed to develop speed and the ability 
to comprehend and organize. 

4. Pupils should be encouraged to apply the methods of 
study learned in the silent-reading class to the work 
done in other subjects. 

SUGGESTED READINGS 

Dearborn, G. V. Hoio to Learn Easily. Little, Brown and 

Company, Boston, 1916. 
Gray, W. S. "Reading in the elementary schools of Indi- 
anapolis: Part IV." Elementary School Journal, Vol. 19, 

(April) 1919. 
Horn, Ernest. "The relation of silent reading to efficiency 

in study." Addresses and Proceedings of the National 

Education Association, Vol. 58, 1920. 
Judd, Charles H. "Analysis of learning processes and 

specific teaching." Elementary School Journal, Vol. 21, 

(May) 1921. 
O'Hern, J. P. "The development of a chart of attainments 

in reading." Journal of Educational Research, Vol. 3, 

1921. 
Stone, C. R. Silent and Oral Reading. Houghton Mifflin 

Company, Boston, 1922. 



CHAPTER XV 
SILENT READING IN GRADES VII AND YIII 

Teaching" pupils to study. Teaching pupils of the 
advanced elementary grades and of the junior high 
school how to study economically and effectively is quite 
as important a matter as teaching them silent reading 
as an end in itself. At this period of school life pupils 
may be led to realize that the possession of skill in 
acquiring knowledge, and an effective method of using 
that skill, are really of more importance than the posses- 
sion of the knowledge itself. It is comparatively easy to 
arouse an interest in methods of study, by showing pupils 
the advantage of economical plans and effective devices. 
The teacher's first task, then, is to do that by helping 
her pupils become rapid and purposeful readers. It is 
advisable to use a part of each recitation period for 
developing a method of effective study. The last five 
minutes may often be used to advantage for making an 
assignment in such a way that pupils have definite prob- 
lems to work on. 

Experiments in learning to study.^ Interest in the 
problem of establishing effective study habits led the 

^'Germane, Charles E. "The value of the controlled mental 
summary as a method of studying-." School and Society, Vol. 
12, (December) 1920. 

297 



298 SILENT READING 

authors to conduct an experiment in an eighth-grade 
class a few years ago. In order to ascertain the ability 
of the pupils so as to determine what sort of training 
they needed, it was necessary carefully to check the rate 
at which they read one of their assignments, a history 
lesson of about the usual length. The slowest reader 
read 106 words per minute, the fastest 428 words. A 
seven-minute test designed to measure comprehension 
and retention, given immediately after the reading, 
showed scores ranging from 10.4 per cent to a trifle less 
than 50 per cent. These data convinced teacher and 
pupils that it was necessary to increase the speed of 
reading, and to acquire some method that would enable 
the reader quickly to grasp the main points of what 
he read. 

Types of reading ability. As the test revealed three 
types of readers — rapid, medium-rate, and slow — the 
class was grouped into two divisions for the purpose 
of drill. One group included the rapid readers and 
the medium-rate readers who had made high scores on 
the speed test, the other included the slow readers and 
those pupils of the medium-rate group who had made 
low scores. The intention of the authors was to develop 
methods of effective study by means of drill exercises. 
To that end they selected material from the textbooks 
used in the eighth grade; the topics covered were ''The 
'Sweating' System," "Tuberculosis," "The Conserva- 
tion of Human Life," "Immigration," "Child Labor," 
and "Unemployment." Four days per week for four 



GRADES SEVEN AND EIGHT 299 

weeks the class spent twenty-five minutes daily, the last 
half of the recitation period in social science, in a con- 
sideration of some of the fundamental principles of 
study and their application to the material being studied. 

The two groups of pupils were united for the first 
two lessons. During the first recitation period, which 
was devoted to a consideration of the principles of 
^tudy and their application to one of the selections 
chosen, class discussion brought out the necessity of pay- 
ing close attention to the title of an article that one 
reads, and to the importance of the mechanical features 
of printed matter — paragraph headings, marginal 
notes, italicized words, etc. The teacher explained that 
the title of an article always merits careful considera- 
tion, because it is usually an index to what is to be 
found in the article itself. 

The "key sentence." It was also made clear that 
in every well-written paragraph the first or second sen- 
tence is usually what one may call a ''key sentence," 
which gives an idea of what is treated in the para- 
graph. Pupils were advised to read the last sentence 
of a paragraph carefully because it usually sum- 
marizes what has preceded. The teacher explained 
that the body of a paragraph — the middle portion — 
is usually only an elaboration of the theme stated in 
the opening sentences, and also that the summary, 
which as a rule appears in the concluding sentence, 
makes it unnecessary for one to read all parts of a 
paragraph with the same degree of close attention. 



300 SILENT READING 

It must be clearly borne in mind that although pupils 
were strongly urged to give particular attention to the 
key sentences, they were likewise told that if they care- 
fully read the first sentences, in which the author states 
his aim or point of view, they can then read the other 
sentences more rapidly, more purposefully, and more 
understandingly. In fact, if one catches the meaning 
of the key sentence, it is often possible even to ''skim" 
a paragraph without at all failing to comprehend it. 

The following paragraphs, chosen from the lesson on 
"The 'Sweating' System," illustrate the key sentence 
and show its relation to the remainder of the paragraph. 

The conditions which not only make possible, but 
encourage, the sweating system are, first, a crowded 
population in large cities ; second, high rent ; and third, 
contract work. The crowded population in the large 
cities offers a large available amount of labor which 
can be secured at a very low price. A large foreign 
population naturally industrious and thrifty, where 
the women and children and often the men have no 
regular work, is easily exploited by the sweaters, and 
offers many victims to their grinding system. 

The key sentence of the preceding paragraph is obvi- 
ously the first one. It concisely sets forth the theme 
which is expanded in the remainder. 

The contractor, or sweater, is one who makes a 
special business of employing immigrants. The man 
best fitted to be contractor, or sweater, is said to be 
the man who is well acquainted with his neighbors, 
who is' able to speak the language of several classes 
of immigrants, . . . etc. 



GRADES SEVEN AND EIGHT 30I 

The main idea of the above paragraph is the defini- 
tion of a ''sweater." The remainder of the paragraph 
amplifies the definition. 

The many reports of investigations that have "been 
made in regard to the sweat shops have been unani- 
mous in speaking of the unsanitary conditions within 
these places. They are invariably found in the most 
crowded quarters of the cities, in old tenement build- 
ings utterly lacking in modern conveniences. Families 
of from three to five or more are found living in two 
or three-room apartments, in small rooms poorly 
lighted and poorly ventilated, with walls and floors 
often out of repair. For entire families to work, cook, 
eatj and sleep amid such unsanitary conditions as 
these, working long hours and often seven days of 
the week, in close, unventilated rooms, means a con- 
dition of labor that is not only a menace to health, 
but to all home and social life. 

The preceding paragraph well illustrates how the 
main portion elaborates and expands the theme stated 
in the key sentence. 

The *'key paragraph.*' The second lesson was de- 
voted to a discussion of the ''key paragraph." The 
teacher explained that the key paragraph presents that 
problem and its phases which the author undertakes 
to treat as a whole in his article. The two following 
excerpts, taken respectively from the articles on "The 
* Sweating' System" and on "Immigration," illustrate 
the character of this sort of paragraph. The second 
is a particularly good example. 

There are two principal causes for the growth of 
the sweating system, which should be discussed at 



302 SILENT READING 

some length. These causes are the kind or nature 
of the work, and the kind of labor supply. 

Some Americans early protested against the wide- 
open door for immigrants. Some of the objections 
which they advanced were foolish and some were wise ; 
some were narrow and selfish ; others were based, not 
on ill-will toward the foreigner, but on the desire to 
make America a united nation, well governed and 
prosperous. At the same time there were advocates 
of the wide-open door who objected to interference 
with immigration. 

One may observe that the preceding paragraphs sug- 
gest what is to be treated in those that follow. It is 
a simple matter to get pupils to note this fact and to 
make good use of it. As this experiment showed, pupils 
who carefully read the key paragraph need to read 
carefully only two or three sentences of each of the 
succeeding paragraphs in order to grasp the thread 
of the author's argument as he develops his theme. 

For the third lesson, the class was divided into two 
groups as originally planned. The group of slow read- 
ers was drilled on rapid reading and thought-getting. 
Some of the devices suggested for use in the third 
and fourth grades were used for this work. Pupils were 
asked to find answers to the teacher's questions, and 
they were taught to ''skim" the page in search of par- 
ticular phrases and words. The latter exercise was in- 
tended to develop the habit of forming a wide eye- 
span. At this time the group reviewed the principles 
of economical study which had been discussed on the 



GRADES SEVEN AND EIGHT 393 

two preceding days, and each pupil was required to 
find at least two key sentences. 

Questions based on topic heading's. During the 
third recitation period the group of rapid readers com- 
piled a list of seven questions based on ''The 'Sweating' 
System" for use as a written test for the slow group 
on the following day. That plan was adopted for use 
with brighter pupils in the hope that it would cause 
them more quickly to apprehend the relationship be- 
tween the paragraph headings and the important divi- 
sions of the article, and also that they might learn to 
base questions on topics. 

The two groups were again united for the fourth 
lesson. The seven questions prepared by the rapid read- 
ers were placed on the blackboard and discussed by 
all, the teacher acting as referee. The aim of the dis- 
cussion was to determine whether or not the questions 
proposed really were based on the important topics in 
the article. The net result of this exercise was that 
many pupils, who previously had read their assignments 
without thought of discriminating among major and 
minor points, now learned from teacher and classmate 
just how tl\ey should proceed in order to make such 
a discrimination. 

The "hub and spoke" device. The plan of outlin- 
ing a lesson as the hub and spokes of a wheel (a device 
we have already described) was effectively used for this 
exercise. The whole problem, "The 'Sweating' Sys- 
tem," was regarded as the hub, the main topics, which 



304 SILENT READING 

pupils agreed on, became the spokes. This device, arti- 
ficial as it was, aroused genuine interest in the discus- 
sion. 

At the conclusion of this lesson the teacher could ob- 
serve that certain definite aims had been accomplished. 
The pupils had become acquainted with some of the 
fundamental principles of effective study; they had ac- 
quired some skill in applying those principles to the 
material under consideration; they had reviewed their 
lesson a number of times, and so, to some extent at 
least, insured the retention of the outstanding facts and 
arguments. 

The treatment of the other articles chosen for study 
by this class differed somewhat from that which we 
have just described in detail. The latter, however, sug- 
gestive of the general scheme of all, indicates the kind 
of training which pupils in the upper elementary grades 
usually need. Although classes should as a rule be 
divided into groups for the exercises in rapid reading 
and thought-getting, so that those of more nearly equal 
ability will be competing, nevertheless it is advisable 
to combine the groups of fast and slow readers when- 
ever practicable. The latter plan should always be 
adopted when one group prepares questions or outlines 
for the approval or use of the other. Joint discussion 
of such material is one of the most valuable features 
of this training. Many other plans and devices are 
available, however, in the articles- on this phase of 
instruction which have recently been published. 



GRADES SEVEN AND EIGHT 305 

Other effective methods. The teacher can arouse 
pupils to a realization of the importance of selecting 
the main points in a lesson by having them consider 
test questions based on the assignment before it is read. 
That plan conduces to purposeful reading, reading in 
order to get the thought, as the authors have shown 
by an experiment. 

A section consisting of 186 sixth, seventh, and 
eighth-grade pupils was divided into two groups of equal 
comprehnesion ability. A seven-page article on '* Tu- 
berculosis" was given to one group, with instructions 
to read it through as many times as possible in a thirty- 
minute period. The same article was given to the sec- 
ond group, with instructions to read it carefully and to 
make a mental note of the answers to the following 
questions. 

Name ten causes of tuberculosis. 
Describe seven symptoms of tuberculosis. 
Name five preventives of tuberculosis. 

At the conclusion of the thirty-minute period a test 
based on the material was given to both groups. Pupils 
who had had the questions in hand while they read 
the article excelled those of the other group by an aver- 
age of 50.3 per cent. In the judgment of the authors, 
this experiment shows that rapid, thoughtful reading 
can be achieved by making speed and thought-getting 
the objectives of reading exercises. 

An effective test for determining whether or not 
pupils are acquiring the ability to read rapidly and well. 



306 SILENT READING 

is to require them frequently to make summaries and 
outlines of the subject-matter of their assignments. 

Speed in reading and a high degree of comprehension 
may be obtained by asking pupils to read a selection, 
they being informed beforehand that their rate will be 
charted, and that when they have completed the single 
reading they will be given a written quiz, the results 
of which will also be tabulated. Knowing that their 
standing will be computed and charted usually causes- 
pupils to exert an extra effort to read rapidly and un- 
derstandingly. 

Silent reading in the English class. As we have 
already said, many high-school pupils have not learned 
to reflect as they read or to assimilate what they read. 
Such pupils have little if any idea of the mental proc- 
ess involved in reading. They regard reading as a re- 
ceptive process rather than a creative one; they regard 
the words of a story as the story itself. As a matter 
of fact, the words are only a means of kindling the 
imagination ; words only cause us to look deeply into 
the thought wells of past experience. Usually it is not 
altogether the pupil's fault that he has this notion of 
reading. His present ability to read has been deter- 
mined by the Idnd of material he has read, and by 
the way in which he has been permitted to read. 

The English teacher's opportunity. The teacher of 
upper-grade English has a great opportunity to develop 
the pupil's ability to read well, and to train him in 
the use of effective study habits that he may use in 



GRADES SEVEN AND EIGHT 307 

all his work. The diversified reading material used in 
English classes offers a wide range in the choice, of 
snbject-matter. It is well within the English teacher's 
province to give instruction in the use and significance 
of titles, marginal notes, and headings. She should 
also teach the meaning of the topical sentence and key 
paragraph, and she should teach children how to orga- 
nize what they read into summaries and outlines. Com- 
prehension, discrimination, evaluation, and organization 
may all be taught in the English class. 

It is this oportunity of the teachers of English to 
conduct such training economically and advantageously 
that has prompted school authorities, who recognize the 
need of developing a scientific method of teaching read- 
ing to seventh, eighth, and ninth-grade pupils, to assign 
the task to the English department. The diversified 
subject-matter which that department is able to offer 
its pupils, the opportunity for developing different men- 
tal sets or attitudes as a consequence of that diversity 
of subject-matter, and the intimate relationship that 
many topics discussed in the English class have to the 
formation of effective study habits, all point to the 
English department as the proper agency for teaching 
correct reading habits. 

Lyman's plan of instruction.^ Lyman proposes that 
one day of each week be set aside for conducting labora- 
tory exercises in silent reading in each seventh and 
eighth-grade English class. The remaining four-fifths 

^Lyman. R. L. "The teaching- of assimilative reading in the 
junior hig-h school." School Review, Vol. 28, (October) 1920. 



308 SILENT READING 

of the time allotted to English is to be devoted to the 
subjects ordinarily taught — literature, oral reading, 
composition, grammar, and spelling — as is the usual 
practice. This program, outlined and discussed on the 
following pages, is a valuable contribution to teachers 
of English who do not have time to work out a course 
of study that correlates English and silent reading. 
The thirty-six lessons are suggestive of the type of ma- 
terial and the sort of methods that any teacher may 
use as a basis for her work. 



Silent-reading Objectives for the Seventh Grade 

First month 

Speeding up the silent reading. 

a) Tests to acquaint pupils with their rate of read- 
ing. 

h) Attacking new words boldly. (Individual diffi- 
culties in word analysis, etc.) 

c) Trying to see several words at one time. 

(Grouping and phrasing for perception of 
thought groups.) 

d) Learning when to read rapidly and when to 

read slowly. 

Second month 

Purpose in reading. (Purpose and problems, old and 
new; goals.) 

a) Does the reader bring a problem to his reading? 
6) Does the reading itself suggest a problem? 

c) Reading carefully to find one's problem. 

d) Finding a new problem growing out of one's 

reading. 



GRADES SEVEN AND EIGHT 309 

Third month 

Grasping the central thought in reading. (Unity and 
forward movement of thought.) 
a) Is the master idea in the title? 
h) Finding the clue sentence and sign posts. 

c) Is the master idea repeated in each paragraph? 

d) Contribution of each paragraph to the master 

idea. 

Fourth month 

Getting a bird's-eye view of the reading. (Compre- 
hending the reach; recalling main headings.) 

a) Noting the plan of the writer. 

h) Selecting the outstanding ideas. 

c) Details building up each main thought. 

d) Stopping to recall the main points. 

Fifth month 

Helping the writer in reading. (The reader's active 
participation.) 

a) Two minds active in reading. 
&) Reading between the lines. 

c) What is the writer's message for the reader 

personally ? 

d) His different messages for other people. 

Sixth month 

Tying up what we know with our reading. (The mean- 
ing of assimilation.) 

a) Recalling similar experiences of one's own. 
&) Recalling different experiences. 

c) Asking questions of the writer. 

d) Tying up one lesson with another. 

Seventh month 

Selection in our reading. (Personal preferences.) 
a) Discovering personal likes in reading. 



310 SILENT READING 

h) Following' the prompting of curiosity. 

c) Determining the worth of a selection. 

d) Passing by the unimportant. 

Eighth month 

Judging values in our reading. (Weighing the worth 
of statements.) 

a) Whose statement may one rely upon? 
&) Having our own opinions when w^e read. 

c) The difference between knowing and guessing. 

d) Being perfectly sure, and fair, and honest. 

Ninth month 

Making use of our reading. (Active utilization of 
results.) 

a) Being alert to solve problems. 

&) Storing away ideas for future use. 

c) Putting information into action. 

d) Various ways of using our reading. 

The work of the first month is intended to arouse 
the pupil's interest in reading. It centers his attention 
on the speed and accuracy with which he reads, and 
enables him to compare his own achievements with the 
standard norms. Experiments conducted in the labora- 
tory school of the University of Chicago have proved 
that children become greatly interested in working out 
exercises which develop class standards of speed and 
comprehension. 

The work of the second month discusses the purpose 
of reading. The discussion leads directly to a consid- 
eration of the way many pupils attack a lesson which 
has been assigned by instructing the class to "take to 



GRADES SEVEN AND EIGHT 3IX 

the bottom . of page so and so for tomorrow. ' ' This ' 
month's work emphasizes the value of reading with a 
problem in mind, and the need of the reader's having 
a tendency to reflect and evaluate. 

During the third and fourth months pupils learn the 
most economical method of getting at the substance of 
what they read. 

Laboratory activities which are pleasing and profit- 
able to pupils of the seventh, eighth, and ninth grades 
are presented during the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth 
months. The children are taught to regard their read- 
ing as an exercise to which they are privileged to con- 
tribute. They come to regard reading as a game in 
which they are partners with the author. Their minds 
become actively engaged in the reading process, they 
help, supplement, inquire, and direct, much as they do 
in the work of the oral-composition class. The domi- 
nant activities of the respective months are helping, 
supplementing, selecting, and evaluating. 

The ninth month of these exercises completes the cycle 
by again directing attention to work much like that 
of the first and second months. The one idea now up- 
permost in the children '§ minds is to make the active 
utilization of results the chief goal of all reading done 
as study. 

The following classroom devices may be used to teach 
objective (&) of the fifth month's work. These exer- 
cises are suggestive of the laboratory method of pro- 
cedure. 



312 



SILENT READING 



Reading Between the Lines 

(I) 

Have you ever heard the expression ' ' reading between 

the lines"? Let ns make our own explanation of that 

saying. 

Read: Perseverance is a great element of success. 

Think : I remember when I worked very hard and 
learned a difficult lesson. Another time I 
gave up in disgust and made a failure. The 
different workers in our grade are good pupils. 

(11) 

Read: ''If you only knock long enough and loud 
enough at the gate ... " 

Think: Of course, the poet can't be talking of a real 
gate. Knocking long and loud means repeated 
efforts to succeed. It means trying over and 
over again. 

Read: '' ... you are sure to wake up some- 
body." 

Think: Loud noise does wake up people. But the 
sentence must mean more than waking a sleep- 
ing man; it means attaining success. 

(Ill) 

Read: ''Count that day lost whose low descending 
sun ... " 

Think: Boy Scouts take an oath to do a kind deed 
for some one every day. Kind deeds are not 
the only worthy actions. I recall one piece 
of hard work; I recall an unkind deed. 

Read: "Views from thy hand no worthy action 
done." 

Think: (Pupils should develop this material.) 



GRADES SEVEN AND EIGHT 3^3 

Filling in Bet^^en the Lines 

(I) 

Head: ''When freedom from her mountain height 

Unfurled her standard to the air ... " 
Fill IN: Pride in our country's flag. 

Pride in what the flag stands for. 
Read : ' ' She" tore the azure robe of night 
And set the stars of glory there." 
Do you not see that we do not read merely words — 
not little black marks set together on paper? We do 
not read merely sentences and paragraphs. We read 
ideas and meanings which are often not found in the 
cold words before us. ''And set the stars of glory 
there. ' ' Only seven little words ! But when we read 
them we think of forty-eight white stars on a blue 
ground, each star standing for a state. We see the 
sisterhood of the states. They are stars of glory. All 
that our fathers have done, and all that their fathers 
did, makes the United States what she is. There is no 
end to the meaning we may read into the six words, 
'' . . . set the stars of glory there." 

(11) 

Have the pupils select a paragraph similar to the 
following from their geography or some other textbook, 
check any two lines of the paragraph, and write those 
two lines widely apart on a sheet of paper. Each pupil 
should then fill in between the two lines with a rough 
sketch, a diagram, or words of his own that will make 
clear his interpretation of the line chosen. 

In many coal mines there are rooms that have been 
made by digging out the coal. There is always dan- 
ger that the roof of such a room may cave in because 
of the great weight of overlying rock and earth. To 



314 



SILENT READING 



prevent this, pillars of high-grade coal are left stand- 
ing. Sometimes, too, a roof of coal is left. When 
this '^ pillar and stall" method is used, much good 
coal from the better layers is never tal^en from the 
ground. There is another method, known as the ''long 
wall method," in which the miner supports the roof 
behind him as he works, by tilling in the rock and 
shale. In this way, all the coal is taken out. 



(HI) 

''The American flag has been the symbol of 

liberty ... " 

Fill in with examples from the years 1775, 

1864, and 1918. 

"Men rejoiced in the American flag . . . " 

Fill in with the names of several nations that 

have done so. 

"When Arnold would have surrendered West 

Point ..." 

Fill in with a brief account of the incident 

here referred to. If one of the pupils' can 

relate the story, let him do so ; otherwise the 

teacher should tell it to the class. 

"If an author is worth anything, you will 

not get the meaning of his statement all at 

once." 

Fill in by giving your opinion of the truth 

of this statement. 

(IV) 

A variant of this type of exercise, equally as effective 
as those suggestions offered, is to ask each pupil to 
write a sentence about one of his lessons, then exchange 
his paper with a classmate who reads between the lines 
and writes out his interpretation of the sentence. Some 



Read : 

Think 

Read : 
Tpiink : 

Read : 

Think 

Read : 
Think 



GRADES SEVEN AND EIGHT 3^5 

sentences used in this exercise should be written on the 
blackboard. 

Advanced silent-reading' material. The well-or- 
ganized, highly factual material found in textbooks of 
history, geography, physiology, and nature stud}^ is Yery 
valuable for use as the basis of instruction in silent 
reading. The abundance of it, and its similarity to 
the reading matter which one meets in later life, are 
also points in favor of using it extensively in seventh 
and eighth-grade classes. Teachers should use the period 
allotted to supervised study for training pupils to read 
such material effectively. If no provision is made for 
such work, then occasionally the last ten or fifteen min- 
utes of the usual recitation period should be devoted 
to training in the formation of correct habits of study 
by means of drill in silent reading. The specimen les- 
sons on the following pages are suggestive of some plans 
that may be used. 

Type Study: A History Lesson 

Give the pupils a short written test covering the main 
topics of the assignment before they read it. This is 
to ascertain how much they knoAV about the subject to 
be studied, so that the amount they gain from reading 
the assignment may be more accurately determined. As 
soon as the preliminary test has been given, pupils 
should read the assignment through once and record 
their time. Then give the questions suggested on page 
317, score the papers, and chart the results. Interest 



316 SILENT READING 

may be added to this work by having each pupil chart 
his own results and compare his scores with the class 
average. 

The aim of this plan is to motivate reading through 
the preliminary test, by showing pupils that the assign- 
ment contains material about which they know very 
little. When they learn that, they tend to read pur- 
posefully because they have the main topics in mind. 

Immigration^ 

The first marked invasion, that of the Irish and Ger- 
mans, opened between 1840 and 1850. Many of the 
Irish stopped in the cities and sought employment 
as manual laborers, or went out into the construction 
camps where railways and canals were built. The 
Germans, on the other hand, seemed from the first 
to prefer farming. Perhaps a major portion of them 
went west and bought land or entered government 
** domains" opened to settlers. 

*^ ^ 4& ^ 4& 4f* ^ 

w W W W W w W 

A second era in the history of immigration opened 
about 1890. The new period was marked, in the first 
place, by a decided change in the nationality of the 
immigrants. The number coming from Great Britain, 
Ireland, and Germany fell off rapidly, and the pro- 
portion from Scandinavian countries did not increase. 
By 1896 the immigrants from Austria-Hungary, Italy, 
and Eussia greatly outnumbered those from north and 
west Europe, and in 1910 nine-tenths of all the immi- 
grants arriving in the United States were from the 
south and west of Europe. Jews who by the tens 
of thousands were driven out of Russia and Roumania 

^This selection is taken from Beard and Barley's The History 
of the American People (pp. 496-502) published by The Mac- 
millan Company, New York City. 



GRADES SEVEN AND EIGHT 3I7 

by cruel oppression, really had no choice but to flee 
to the United States. 

*jg, je. ^ .u> .aiv 45. .a. 

W •?¥• "JP W TT W •fS' 

The newcomers had to settle in cities. The Rus- 
sian Jews entered the ready-made garment trade in 
the great centers like New York, Rochester, and Chi- 
cago. Hungarians, Italians, Slovaks, and Poles took 
up heavy tasks like mining and iron working, which 
called for more physical strength. Immigrants dur- 
ing this period built the railroads, developed the 
mines, manned the coke ovens and blast furnaces, made 
clothing, and, in fact, furnished the labor for most 
of the country. 

Questions 

1. What two nationalities composed the first marked 

invasion of immigrants^ 

2. Where did those immigrants settle? 

3. What was the cause of the lull in immigration? 

4. Why did the *' Homestead Act" induce foreign- 

ers to come to this country? 

5. Name five nationalities that came from northern 

Europe immediately after the Civil War? 

6. What change was there in the second era? 

7. Where did these immigrants settle? 

8. Name four evil effects which the low rates of 

steamship companies and their false advertis- 
ing in Europe have on the United States? 

There are several other good plans for studying the 
history assignment, each quite as effective as the one 
we have outlined in detail. Pupils may be asked to 
''skim" the material so as to find answers to particular 
questions. That exercise tends to form good motor 
habits in reading, broad eye-span, and short duration 



318 SILENT READING 

of fixation. They may be asked to prepare questions 
for class discussion after reading this and similar sub- 
ject-matter once, or they may read the assignment once, 
guided by three or four questions written on the black- 
board. 

Forming good study habits. Many students fre- 
quently reach the eighth grade with few desirable study 
habits. They are unable to concentrate on what they 
read, to read closely, or to comprehend rapidly and sat- 
isfactorily. Such pupils believe they are "studying hard 
when they are only marking time. A detailed test which 
requires the recall of data contained in the assignment 
often shocks these pupils out of their indifference by 
showing them how loosely and undiscriminatingly they 
really do read. The lesson plan outlined below was 
successfully used in an eighth-grade class whose mem- 
bers made an average score of only 50 per cent before 
the plan was adopted. The test included in this method 
caused pupils to realize how superficially they read and 
made them want to use a part of each recitation period 
for learning how to read. 

Type Study: A Geography Lesson 
Towards the close of a geography lesson suggest that 
pupils spend the remainder of the period reading a 
part of the next day's assignment. Determine how 
many paragraphs shall be read, and instruct pupils to 
close their books when they read the material once, as 
a sign that they have finished. Note each pupil's time 



GRADES SEVEN AND EIGHT 319 

and rank him as to rate. AYhen all have finished, test 
the class with a list of questions which thoroughly cover 
the assignment. 

The following lesson assignment^ is typical of the 
amount of material that should be used for this exer- 
cise. The questions indicate the type that should be 
used. 

Chicago's Commercial Advantages 

For a long time there was much rivalry between 
St. Louis and Chicago to see which should outgrow 
the other. Now Chicago is three and a half times 
as large as St. Louis, and surpasses all other cities 
in the North Central States much as New York sur- 
passes those in the Northeastern States. What has 
led to such remarkable grovnh"? 

There are three facts about its location that give 
Chicago a great advantage for trade in farm products. 

First, it is much nearer the center of this remark- 
ably productive region than is St. Louis. The lead- 
ing wheat region lies to the northwest, the Corn Belt 
is close at hand, and the dairy section is very near. 

Second, the railroads connecting our northwestern 
states with the northeastern group must pass around 
the southern end of Lake Michigan. There is no route 
farther north that they can easily take. Also, goods 
bound for the East from districts west and south- 
west of Chicago can most easily go by way of the 
same city. Thus Chicago is a natural meeting place 
for routes connecting the East and the "West and has 
become the greatest railroad center in the world. 
There are now more than thirty important railroads 

^The material on whicTi this assis:nment is based is taken 
from MeMurry and Parkins' Advanced Geography (pp. 79, 80) 
published by The Macmillan Company, New Tork City. 



320 SILENT READING 

that have their terminals in that city. Yet no rail- 
road passes through the city, though the Pennsylvania 
Railroad trains pass directly through New York, a 
much larger city, on their way from Washington and 
Pittsburgh to Boston. How must this fact affect the 
handling of freight in Chicago? 

With these advantages, it is not strange that Chi- 
cago has more trade in farm products than any of 
the other cities of this section. While Minneapolis 
is the greatest wheat market, Chicago is the greatest 
grain market, its trade in corn, oats, and other grains 
besides wheat being very extensive. It receives three 
times as much live stock as St. Louis, and sends forth 
more meat products than any other city in the world. 

The Union Stockyards, where the cattle, sheep, and 
hogs are received and where the meat is packed, sur- 
pass anything else of the kind in the world. The 
yards and factories are so complete an organization 
that they resemble a city in themselves ; and that 
section of Chicago has come to be known as Packing- 
town. It is worth a day's visit. Over 60,000 men 
are employed there, and the products have an annual 
value of nearly a billion dollars. 



Questions 

1. How much larger is Chicago than St. Louis ^ 

2. How may Chicago be compared to New York 

City? 

3. Give three reasons why Chicago is larger than 

St. Louis. 

4. How may you contrast Chicago with Minneapo- 

lis? 

5. Compare the amount of live stock sent to Chi- 

cago with that sent to St. Louis. 

6. What and where is Packingtown? 



GRADES SEVEN AND EIGHT 32I 

7. How many thousand men are employed in Pack- 

ingtown ? 

8. What is the value of the annual output of the 

packing" industries of Chicago? 

Reading arithmetic problems. It is well known that 
many pupils who can give a coherent reproduction of 
the situations recounted and described in four or five 
pages of narrative material are often unable to state 
the conditions set forth in the four or five lines of an 
arithmetic problem. Many teachers, believing that a 
pupil's inability to solve arithmetic problems is due to 
his failure to understand what he reads, try to over- 
come the difficulty by asking pupils to ^'read the prob- 
lem carefully. ' ' That usually results in reading a prob- 
lem a second time or in reading it orally; neither prac- 
tice remedies the difficulty. It seems likely that pupils 
are unable to read problems accurately because they 
have not been trained to ''get the story" of a problem. 
This view is largely supported by the results of experi- 
ments which seem to prove that the successful reading 
of different kinds of material demands different read- 
ing abilities, which, in turn, must be developed by dif- 
ferent sorts of training. 

A recent study^ describes the condition that exists 
and suggests a method of devising means to remedy it. 

Problems in books so often read: ''If a man . 
. . , etc.," ''Find the cost when . . . , etc.," 
or "At 6 cents for 25, what will 3 dozen articles cost?" 

^Wilson, Estaline. "Improving- the ability to read arithmetic 
problems." Elementary School Journal, Vol. 22, (January) 1922. 



322 SILENT READING 

This flat, impersonal form of expression has no doubt 
grown out of providing enough problems in a book 
to supply the needed drill; but it works disaster in 
the training of pupils. Once we become aware of 
the dull and meaningless character of arithmetic read- 
ing, we realize that we are confronted with two im- 
portant questions: (a) To what extent can we aid 
pupils to comprehend the real situation which is in- 
volved in the problem? (&) To what extent can fluent 
and correct reading contribute to the actual solving 
of the problem? 

Making the problem real. The first step in teaching 
pupils to read problem material is to make the story 
in the problem so real and so vivid that they will realize 
the situation set forth. Some methods of doing this, 
successfully used by a group of Cincinnati teachers, 
are described in the following paragraphs. 

The teachers first of all had the pupils study the 
problems assigned, just as they ordinarily studied other 
reading lessons — in this instance, however, for the pur- 
pose of getting the thought of the text without regard 
to the data of the problem. To that end the teacher 
placed such questions on the blackboard as would aid 
pupils to ascertain the meaning of the problems. Some- 
times the pupils suggested questions. An example of 
this device is shown by the following problem and the 
accompanying questions based on it. 

James sold 36 copies of the Saturday Evening Post 
at 5 cents each. He kept % of the money. With the 
remainder he bought daily papers at % cents each. 
How many papers did he buy? 



GRADES SEVEN AND EIGHT 323 

1. How could yon find ont how mnch James wonld 

have after he sold his copies of the Post? 

2. What part of his money did he spend for daily 

papers ? 

3. What part did he keep ? Wliat did he probably 

do with his money? 

4. Why do yon think he did not spend it all for 

daily papers? 

5. How did the cost of a daily paper compare with 

the cost of a Post ? 

6. If yon know how mnch money he spent for daily 

papers, and the cost of each one, how will 
yon find ont how many he bonght? 

Another plan was the nse of the facts of a problem 
as the plot of a story. When doing this sort of work, 
the pupils read between the lines and supplied details 
that made the problems real. The dull facts of buying 
and selling were made the basis of imaginary experi- 
ences. 

Such a problem as ''What was the cost of 6 pounds 
of sugar at 8 cents a pound, 6 cans of milk at 5 cents 
a can, and 2 dozen eggs at 30 cents a dozen?" becomes 
for Louise a shopping situation. Her mother, surprised 
by unexpected guests, wants to make a cake. Louise 
has to make a hurried trip to the grocery to obtain the 
three necessary articles — eggs, sugar, milk. She keeps 
repeating the names of the articles so as not to forget 
the items. The grocer quotes prices as she buys each 
article: "Eggs are 30 cents today; sugar is down to 
8 cents a pound, etc." She returns home, reports her 
total expenditure to her mother, and the latter, in turn, 



324 SILENT READING 

counts up the cost again to see if Louise has figured 
correctly. 

The same figures suggest quite a different situation 
to another pupil. The Boy Scout troop plans a hike. 
Fred's share of the necessary eats for the crowd con- 
sists of sugar and milk for the cocoa, and eggs to fry 
over the camp fire. Since each scout is to present his 
bill in order that all may share equally in the total 
expense, Fred carefully figures the cost of the sugar, 
eggs, and milk, and presents his bill in a business-like 
manner to the scout master. 

In another class the teacher asked the pupils to devise 
a plan for dramatizing the story of the problems. The 
few minutes allowed for preparing work of this sort 
usually resulted in a realistic portrayal of many strik- 
ing situations. One scene depicted an automobile show. 
An enthusiastic salesman greeted Farmer Jones and his 
family, showed them various cars, quoted the discounts, 
and rapidly computed the amounts to be saved by avail- 
ing oneself of the various percentages of discount. An- 
other effective scene depicted a millinery shop where 
customers called to inquire the prices of hats they had 
seen advertised. 

The value of the method. The methods described 
were used by teachers who sought to measure their effi- 
cacy in terms of data showing improved ability to solve 
problems. One teacher's report of the results obtained 
in a sixth-grade class is substantially as follows. The 
pupils were first tested with the Stone Standardized 



GRADES SEVEN AND EIGHT 325 

Reasoning Test in Arithmetic. Three ten-minute periods 
per week for five weeks were then devoted to reading 
problems by using the question method already de- 
scribed; following that, Stone's test was again given 
and the two sets of results were compared. The teacher 
reports that "the resulting improvement of a large per- 
centage of the pupils and the raising of the class aver- 
ages from below standard to above seem satisfactory 
returns for the time spent in problem-reading work." 

Another teacher, whose class had developed consider- 
able ability to make stories from the problems, tried to 
evaluate the time spent in this preliminary problem 
reading in terms of increased ability to solve the prob- 
lems. She first placed a series of problems on the 
blackboard and asked the class to solve them without 
doing the preliminary reading and story making. On 
the following day the pupils were allowed to construct 
stories based on the same problems. Following that, 
they solved the problems. In comparing the results of 
the two days ' work, the class medians showed an increase 
of 14 per cent in rate and 30 per cent in accuracy. 

Obviously the pupils were at an advantage when they 
solved the problems the second time; they had profited 
to some extent by the first reading, although no help 
had been given at that time. It would seem, however, 
that inasmuch as the class gained 30 per cent in ability 
to read, although only one period was used for that 
work, that the time was well spent. Further evidence 
of the effectiveness of this method is shown by the high 



326 SILENT READING 

score which the group made when tested by the Monroe 
Standard Reasoning Test in Arithmetic after they had 
been working on this plan for some time. Their score 
on "correct principle" was 32, the standard being only 
17 ; for ' ' correct answers ' ' the class scored 17, the stand- 
ard being 9.7. 

A third plan, which included storj^-telling and drama- 
tization, was used in an "opportunity class" of twenty 
children. Nineteen of this group had been given intelli- 
gence tests. Of those, eight had I. Q.'s ranging from 
90 to 80, six ranging from 80 to 70, five ranging from 
70 to 60. Before giving any training in problem read- 
ing the pupils were tested with Peet and Dearborn's 
Progress Test in Arithmetic. After six weeks of train- 
ing, during which the pupils spent approximately ninety 
minutes weekly in solving problems after carefully read- 
ing them, the group was again tested with the same 
test, no mention being made of its previous use. The 
second test showed a median score of 72, as compared 
with a median score of 28 made on the first test. 

Although the attempts to evaluate methods of teach- 
ing pupils to read arithmetic problems have not yet 
been made extensively enough to warrant the findings 
as conclusive, nevertheless the efi'orts that we have de- 
scribed include several pieces of splendid pioneer work 
in this field. Experiments already made have served 
their purpose well, if they have done nothing other than 
prove the feasibility of such work to investigators who 
may later make more extensive studies by using more 



GRADES SEVEN AND EIGHT 327 

elaborate methods. But the experiments already eon- 
ducted have actually accomplished another thing. They 
have demonstrated that when pupils once catch the spirit 
of reading interesting situations into the number facts 
of their arithmetic problems, they undertake their work 
with more enthusiasm and with increased chances of 
success. Pupils show great interest in ''making up 
stories, ' ' in dealing with problems in this fashion. That 
such is true need not appear unreasonable; it is very 
likely that pupils have long been doing this very thing 
although teachers were not aware of it. The really 
surprising fact is that there are some children who 
cannot do the work at all — pupils to whom figures are 
something quite apart from any imagined situation. 

Dramatizations and school pageants. Pageants, 
projects, and dramatizations are now generally recog- 
nized as effective pedagogic devices, and as a consequence 
they are rapidly coming into favor as teaching agencies. 
This is in keeping with the trend of modern pedagogy, 
which insists that good citizenship and morality can 
not be taught to the child; he must live them. Knowl- 
edge is not virtue or power except to the degree that 
it functions in life. Thus, the teacher's problem is that 
of establishing wholesome reactions, habits, and atti- 
tudes in the minds of her pupils. Many now believe 
that this problem can best be solved by making the 
activities of daily life the subject-matter of instruction, 
and focusing the child's interest and efforts upon a 
solution of the difficulties which daily life presents. 



328 SILENT READING 

This method of instruction gives the child opportunity 
to think and to act independently, thus establishing 
habits and attitudes conducive to successful living. 

The advantage of making daily activities the basis 
of class projects may readily be determined by plan- 
ning a series of lessons on health, food, sleep, home 
making, city planning, fire prevention, or similar topics. 
A typical project of this kind, based on fire prevention, 
was worked out by an eighth-grade class as described 
below. 

A lesson on *'fire prevention." For three weeks 
teacher and pupils spent the daily twenty-five minute 
period discussing fire loss and fire prevention, gathering 
data, and reaching conclusions. They finally embodied 
the results of their work in concrete form, evidence 
of their own grasp of the subject and instructive to 
others who had had no share in the work. 

The first day was spent discussing how best to attack 
the .problem of fire prevention. The pupils agreed upon 
three objectives which should guide them in their read- 
ing and search for information : ( 1 ) How serious is 
the problem of fire prevention in the state and nation, 
as indicated by the destruction of life and property 
during the past year? (2) What are the chief causes 
of fires? (3) What can be done to prevent fires? 

With those topics in mind, the pupils began reading 
material gathered from newspapers, magazines, and 
pamphlets furnished by the fire insurance companies. 
State and federal publications were also used. At the 



GRADES SEVEN AND EIGHT 329 

conclusion of three weeks of study the pupils agreed 
that although destructive fires are in general due to 
carelessness, which seems to be an American trait, the 
specific causes of most of them are the following: The 
careless handling of kerosene, gasoline, gas, and matches ; 
lack of attention to bonfires and burning rubbish; care- 
less disposition of lighted cigars and cigarettes; de- 
fective chimneys and electrical wiring; spontaneous 
combustion ; lightning. 

Presenting" the pageant. Having gathered the ma- 
terial, evaluated and organized it, and reached certain 
conclusions, the pupils desired to present their findings 
in some way which would effectively inform the other 
pupils and the public about the danger of fires and 
ways to prevent them. Accordingly, the class decided 
to present a pageant which should make the audience 
realize that carelessness is the principal cause of the 
unnecessary destruction of life and property by fire. 
The pageant was arranged to represent a mock trial 
portrayed by pupils who played the parts of judge, 
jury, lawyers, and eleven culprits, each of whom im- 
personated one of the chief causes of fires. Each of 
the culprits was appropriately dressed and placarded; 
for instance, Mr. Kerosene was clad in a large kerosene 
can made of cardboard and properly labeled. Each 
culprit was called before judge and jury, there to be 
charged with his alleged crimes ; each, in turn, defended 
himself in a three-minute speech. When all the culprits 
had been heard, the lawyers summed up their state- 



330 SILENT READING 

ments and finally the judge acquitted them. The sheriff 
then brought ''Carelessness" before the court, where 
he was tried, found guilty, and sentenced. 

The value of the pageant. The four hundred par- 
ents and pupils who saw this pageant were benefited 
by the forceful presentation of facts, as were also the 
pupils who worked out the material. The latter, of 
course, received the greatest benefit because they had 
actually lived the work. They learned the value of 
magazines and pamphlets as sources of material bearing 
on their projects. They learned to _xead rapidly and 
well, because they had to collect a large amount of data 
in a comparatively short time. They learned to com - 
prehend, because each pupil had to read with a purpose 
in order to make his contribution to the class project. 

The value of the entire exercise as a means of teach- 
ing pnpils to organize was noteworthy. Each child 
had to evaluate what he read in order to sift out of 
his material some sound arguments with which to sup- 
port his plea of ''not guilty." The teacher's demand 
for daily two-minute reports throughout the discussion 
of the project gave constant practice in organization. 

Eetention was secured not only because pupils were 
required to read purposefully and to organize what they 
read, but also because they had to prepare what they 
read for use in the future. 

Speed and comprehension drills conducted under time 
pressure added to the value of all this work. It was 
a simple matter to make use of those because of the 



GRADES SEVEN AND EIGHT 331 

many questions raised in class, the answers to whicli 
might be fonnd in the material being used. 

The chief value of the entire project was that it taught 
pupils how to read rapidly and effectively with a mini- 
mum expenditure of time and effort, and moreover it 
kept the entire class highly interested because all were 
working toward a definite objective. 

SUMMARY 

1. The importance of developing good stnd;^ habits should 
be emphasized in all seventh and eighth-grade classes. 

2. Not only should reading be taught as such, but every 
lesson in every subject should be used to develop the 
pupils ability to read rapidly and to comprehend, or- 
ganize, and retain what he reads. 

3. The teacher can arouse the pupils' interest in acquiring 
economical methods of study by testing and charting 
the results of pupils' achievements from time to time, 
and by using the last ten or fifteen minutes of certain 
recitation periods for training in effective reading 
habits. 

4. Effective methods of economical study have been worked 
out in experiments. 

5. Correct study habits may be developed by means of 
the material usually studied in arithmetic, history, 
geography, and English classes. 

6. Pamphlets are good sources of supplementary reading 
material. 

7. Pageants are a valuable means of presenting the facts 
of civics. 

SUGGESTED READINGS 

Gray. W. S. "The relation between study and reading." 
Addresses and Proceedings of the National Education 
Association, Vol. 57, 1919. 



332 " SILENT READING 

Horn, Ernest. "A constructive program in silent reading." 

Journal of Educational Research, Vol. 3, (May) 1921. 
Sandwick, R. L. Hoiv to Study and What to Study. 

Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1915. 
Smith, Bertha M. "Efficiency in assimilating reading." 

School Review, Vol. 25, (November) 1917. 
Theisen, W. W. "Provision for individual differences in the 

teaching of reading." Journal of Educational Research, 

Vol. 2, (September) 1920. 
Whipple, G. M. Hoiv to Study Effectively. Public School 

Publishing Company, Bloomington, Illinois, 1916. 



CHAPTER XVI 

MOTIVATION OF DRILL WORK IN READING 

Why drill work is necessary. If the child is to ac- 
quire effective study habits from his various reading 
experiences, it will be necessary to provide situations 
that enable him definitely to focus his attention upon 
that aim. In general, wholesome study habits result 
from a rich course of study, an ample and well-selected 
library, definite lesson assignments, broad reading, and 
good methods applied to the recitation. However, there 
is yet another factor: Interesting drill work is abso- 
lutely necessary if effective study habits are to be ac- 
quired economically. 

Can interest in drill work be maintained? Children 
may be forced through a series of physical gymnastics 
with little skill as a result. Likewise, uninteresting 
reading exercises are practically useless. A mass of 
evidence accumulated by experiment proves that accur- 
acy and speed in reading may often be greatly increased 
by means of interesting drill exercises. An experiment- 
cited in Chapter III showed how a few minutes of con- 
centrated drill each day for one month appreciably af- 
fected the reading rate and accuracy of the pupils. 

333 



334 SILENT READING 

Drill work is psychologically sound. Children in- 
stinctively love rhythm. They enjoy doing certain men- 
tal and physical exercises even for a considerable time 
after perfection has been reached. This fact prevents 
drill work from being a monotonous grind. Learning 
is a process of neural connecting and permanence of 
connections. Other things being equal, those nerve paths 
which are most frequently exercised become stronger. 
But if the exercise of neural paths is not accompanied 
by a feeling of satisfaction, — a ''mental set" of ap- 
proval, desire, and readiness to act, — little will be ac- 
complished by the drill or exercise. It is evident, then, 
that interest is absolutely necessary if achievement is 
to be at all commensurate with the effort expended. 

Regardless of the fact that there is an innate tend- 
ency to enjoy drill because of the factors we have 
mentioned, pupils tire of the intensive exercises sug- 
gested in previous chapters, unless those are properly 
administered. O'Brien^ found that the best results in 
reading drills are secured when the reading stretch is 
from two to four minutes in length. The length of 
drill should, of course, vary in the different grades. 
Since the element of fatigue quickly sets in when pupils 
are forced to concentrate on reading done under time 
pressure, it is well to allow a minute or two for rest 
between the intensive reading stretches. This rest period 
may be devoted entirely to relaxation. The time can 
be more profitably used, however, by asking a ques- 

^O'Brien, J. A. Silent . Reading. The Macmillan Company, 
New York City, 1921. 



MOTIVATING DRILL WORK 335 

tion or two about the material just read. This exer- 
cise can be varied by calling upon some of the pupils 
for an oral reproduction. 

Motivating drill work. In so far as possible, all 
drill work should be pupil-motivated ; that is, the mo- 
tive or desire to do the thing should come from the 
pupil. The teacher should be careful to point out the 
many advantages of rapid, purposeful, and thorough 
reading habits. Their own records of slowness in rate 
and inefficiency in thought-getting, as revealed by stand- 
ard tests, may awaken pupils to a serious consideration 
of their reading problems. The use of individual and 
group charts as a stimulus to better reading often proves 
an effective device. In brief, pupils should be made 
to feel that they will reap results to the degree that 
they earnestly and enthusiastically enter upon the un- 
dertaking. 

Often a child who tries to read a very interesting 
story finds that his lack of familiarity with certain 
important words and phrases handicaps him badly. 
This may be made a motivation for word drill of some 
sort. The child feels the necessity for such drill, and 
consequently attacks the words with the proper mental 
set because he, knows that a mastery of them assures 
him greater enjoyment. Such evidence shows that word 
drills should follow the reading study period. 

Motivation by the teacher. Occasionally the teacher 
will find it necessary to create a motive for study and 
drill work by taking the initiative. This is called 



336 SILENT READING 

teacher-motivation. Such is likely to be the case when 
the course of study is limited in scope and in its appeal 
to the experiences of the child. Not infrequently there 
is a dearth of supplementary reading material in a 
school. The scholastic ideals of the school and com- 
munity may be below average. Under such circum- 
stances, pupils may see little or no value in the drills 
or subject-matter presented. However, the enthusiasm 
of the teacher for the subject in hand, her knowledge 
of its scope and application to life, together with her 
ability to arouse an enthusiastic response in her pupils 
often saves the situation until adjustments can be made 
by obtaining more material which has an inherent ap- 
peal to the life experiences of the child. Even under 
the most adverse circumstances, however, pupil-moti- 
vation should be emphasized, because, after all, it is 
largely through self-expression that self-realization is 
possible. 

The value of instinctive tendencies. *'Our behavior 
consists largely of intelligent actions which rest on an 
instinctive basis. The instinctive tendencies persist and 
develop along intelligent lines. "^ However, the child 
does not learn the names and meanings of new words 
and numbers by means of his instincts, which repre- 
sent neural connections formed before birth. Learning 
to read and cipher are acquired by forming new neural 
connections, — connections which have no immediate 
motor expression. 

^Warren, H. C. Elements of Human Psychology (p. 245). 
Houghton Mifflin Company-, Boston, 1921. 



MOTIVATING DRILL WORK 337 

"What, then, is tlie value of these instinctive traits 
as a means of education, if the child does not acquire 
knowledge by means of them? Possibly the greatest 
value of instincts and instinctive tendencies in the learn- 
ing process is that they exert a ^'motivating, energiz- 
ing, and driving" influence upon the neural system. 
Often a child might despair of learning a new word 
list did he not have an inborn tendency to emulate, 
to rival, and to win social approval. These tendencies 
act as an impelling influence which keeps him at work 
even when he sees little immediate value in a drill. 
The teacher's failure to use these inborn tendencies is 
a failure to aid the child in the realization of himself. 
Some of the instinctive tendencies which the teacher 
should utilize in reading work, especially in drill exer- 
cises, are imitation, play, emulation, and rivalry. 

The tendency to imitate. The imitative tendency 
is much stronger and more extensive among human 
beings than among the other species. The vast system 
of connections between the various centers in the human 
brain makes it possible for the child, when reading, to 
imitate good vocal expression, good gestures, and good 
acting in dramatization. The value of this imitative 
tendency must not be overlooked. Poor oral readers are 
often stimulated to better reading by hearing the good 
readers give an excellent oral rendition of some lesson. 
The teacher should never allow a literary masterpiece 
to be read poorly. The standard should be excellence, 
not only for the sake of doing justice to the master- 



338 SILENT READING 

piece, but also that the poor readers may catch the 
spirit of doing their work well and naturally. 

The value of the imitative tendency in silent reading, 
especially in drills, is evident. If it is possible to 
create a "fashion of thoroughness and rapidity in read- 
ing" among the majority of pupils, it affords a very 
potent stimulus for raising the standards of all the 
others. Children in the primary and intermediate 
grades at least, are likely to enter very enthusiastically 
into any "fashion" or "popular school activity." 

The tendency to play. Play is an instinctive tend- 
ency or impulse which is very strong in children. It 
finds its greatest expression in organized games. It is 
through play that the child learns social adaptation, 
much of his language, and the meaning of many things. 
Play in the form of games affords him a natural out- 
let for his physical and mental energies. His native 
impulses, freedom of action, and spontaneity of verbal 
response are too often inhibited by the artificial environ- 
ment of the schoolroom. Since the school should take 
up the work of education where nature leaves off, it 
is reasonable to infer that the work in the early grades 
should be presented in such a way that this native 
tendency to play may function most effectively. For 
example, the "Animal Lesson" described below is 
keenly enjoyed by children and habituates them to rapid, 
concentrated, and purposeful reading. 

The "Animal Lesson." After the children have 
learned to recognize the pictures of several animals. 



MOTIVATING DRILL WORK 339 

prepare flash cards bearing sentences that mention 
characteristics of each animal. The following are typ- 
ical: 

Chases kitty up a tree. 
Eats hickory nuts. 
Makes sweet honey. 
Has a long neck. 
Has a long trunk. 
Has pink eje&. 
Gives sweet milk. 

The necessary pictures of animals may be cut from 
magazines, or the children may make silhouettes. Stand 
the pictures on the blackboard ledge. Flash the cards 
describing the animals in rapid succession. Let the 
pupils reach quickly for the pictures as the phrase cards 
are flashed. For example, when the teacher flashes the 
card bearing the phrase, ' ' eats hickory nuts, ' ' the pupils 
rush for the picture of a squirrel. When the pictures 
are all taken, the pupil who has the greatest number 
is declared the winner. 

The tendency to emulate. The impulse of emula- 
tion is exhibited by the child in his expressions, "Watch 
me," "See me do it." He instinctively likes to show 
his prowess, his mastery over things. Nor is this trait 
confined to grade pupils only. High-school and col- 
lege students are often not modest in announcing their 
achievements. The cardinal virtue of emulation is that 
the child strives to excel or to master a situation be- 
cause of the satisfaction derived from the activity or 



340 SILENT READING 

conquest itself. He strives to reach some goal, to sur- 
pass his own record. Rivalry with one's own record 
of growth is a commendable attitude. 

The practical application of this instinctive tendency 
to emulate is seen when the pupil tabulates and charts 
his daily or weekly records made in the speed and 
accuracy drills and tests in reading. Charting his daily 
progress may be an artificial incentive. However, it 
often stimulates the pupil to greater effort, as well as 
to an inquiry as to why he suffered lapses in some 
of the records. The impulse to excel the achievements 
of others in one's own class or in other grades is known 
as rivalry. Rivalry is social; it requires competitors. 

Often the speed and accuracy in reading of pupils 
in a certain grade is equal or superior to that of those 
in the grade immediately above. The authors recall 
having a sixth-grade class that often made a higher 
class average in speed and comprehension than did the 
seventh-grade rivals. Again, there is such great over- 
lapping in the reading abilities of pupils in the grades 
that it is not unusual for the brighter third of a fourth- 
grade class to excel the lower third or average pupils 
of the fifth grade. Comparing the scores made by 
pupils within a grade, or comparing the scores of those 
in consecutive grades, will often appreciably motivate 
an interest in reading. Rivalry should always be kept 
within reasonable limits. When ill-feeling or unfair 
tactics develop among the pupils, the use of rivalry as 
an incentive is to be condemned. 



MOTIVATING DRILL WORK 341 

Devices based on inherent traits. Focusing the 
pupil's attention upon reading, especially upon the drill 
exercises, is absolutely imperative if economical results 
are to be achieved. The supplementary reading exer- 
cises suggested in Chapter XII will yield returns largely 
to the degree that pupil focalization is secured. But 
how can this group consciousness be assured 1 Possibly 
one of the most effective devices is to arouse a spirit 
of competition by dividing the class into two groups, 
of as nearly equal reading ability as possible. A class 
division in which the girls are pitted against the boys 
usually stimulates every member to greater effort. In 
all drills and tests, however, only one or two of the 
better pupils on each side will have a chance to score, 
unless some system of weighted points is used. If there 
is a class of ten or more, the first four who get the 
answer right should receive credit for their sides. For 
example, the one who first holds up his hand scores 
four points for his side (providing he is right) ; the 
second, three points ; the third, two points ; the fourth, 
one point. Such weighting of scores insures almost 
undivided attention and 100 per cent participation. 

Arousing" competition by using* tests. Keen compe- 
tition in reading may be aroused by comparing aver- 
age scores in rate and comprehension made by classes 
of the same grade throughout the whole school system. 
Many supervisors give reading tests at stated intervals, 
then record and chart the results for each grade 
throughout the system. Mimeographed reports show- 



342 SILENT READING 

ing comparative rankings are then sent to all grades 
concerned. Such, reports show the average class score 
compared with the reading standard for the grade and 
with the score of other classes. When the spirit of 
fair play and sympathetic co-operation are present, such 
scientific methods of supervision and standardization are 
Yery valuable. 

In one-room schools and small-town schools having 
but one class in each grade, it usually produces an 
exhilarating effect to compare not only the class aver- 
ages of one grade with those of the grade immediately 
above, but to compare the scores of pupils in one grade 
with those of pupils in the next one or two grades 
above. Often a few of the better pupils in the fourth 
grade make a score in rate and comprehension higher 
than that of some of the poorer pupils in the eighth 
grade who are tested over the same reading material. 
When such friendly comparisons are made, the question 
often becomes that of determining how rapidly and well 
the pupils of the respective grades really should read. 

Standards of achievement. In this chapter we have 
emphasized the necessity of having the child focus on 
what he attempts to do. But upon what particular 
thing shall he focus? Have we any accurate scientific 
instrument which will demonstrate to the pupil in what 
school achievements he is deficient? If such a measur- 
ing rod could be devised, would it not be of intrinsic 
value to pupil and teacher? They could then co-operate 
in making a drive upon the objectives not yet realized. 



MOTIVATING DRILL WORK 343 

The standardized test as a measure of achievement. 

Standardized tests are based on the principle of defi- 
niteness. They are instruments for definitely and re- 
liably measuring certain skills and abilities that the 
pupil has acquired. If a pupil wishes to know whether 
his rate of reading and his ability to comprehend are 
up to standard, he may determine this reasonably well 
by taking the examinations provided by a few reading 
tests and scales. He may thus discover for himself 
what detrimental factors operate to lower his score. 
By means of the standardized test he takes stock of 
his assets and liabilities. Focalization upon specific 
aims now becomes possible. The principle of maximum 
reward for minimum effort is able to function. This 
attitude of scientific approach to all problems and the 
careful appraisal of them are of inestimable value to the 
pupil during his school life and in later years. 

"We may well ask what values accrue to the teacher 
from a use of standardized tests. Not so long ago her 
rating was largely determined by the whims or personal 
opinions of her supervisors. If, when an official visit 
was made to her room, the pupils seemed very much 
interested in their work, the room cheerful, and the 
teacher artfully gracious, she might reasonably expect 
a mark of ''good" or *' superior" in the superintend- 
ent's estimation. The fact that she was superior in 
teaching skill, that she helped pupils discover their diffi- 
culties, and then scientifically remedied their shortcom- 
ings, was no factor in the appraisal of her ability. 



344 SILENT READING 

The determination of gfoals. Research in the field 
of education is making it possible to determine by means 
of standardized tests of intelligence and achievement, 
the probable goals or limits that each pupil should real- 
ize in each subject for any particular year. When- 
ever this theory comes to determine practice, then 
teacher, parent, and pupil will definitely know at the 
beginning of the year what achievements should be 
forthcoming. The pupil's integrity of effort and the 
teaching skill of the teacher will thus be measured in 
terms of results produced, instead of in terms of opin- 
ionated statements. 

Monroe says :^ 

The teacher is a manufacturer. The raw material 
is the children. Textbooks, school buildings, equipment, 
libraries, and methods and devices of teaching are the 
"machines" or instruments which he uses to change 
this raw material into the finished product or educated 
boys and girls who are prepared to do their part in 
the life of the community, state, and nation. With- 
out definite aims the teacher cannot plan his work effec- 
tively. He does not know, except in an indefinite or 
general way, what he is to do. If he has definite aims, 
but no instruments for measuring his results accurately, 
he cannot learn when he has attained his aims. Thus 
he is compelled to work in the dark. If he makes in- 
accurate measurements, but considers them accurate, 
he is in a still more serious situation. His efforts are 
almost certain to be expended unwisely. 

The teacher-made tests. There are not enough re- 
liable standardized tests in any subject even to consider 

iMonroe, W. S. Measurincf fhe Results of Teaching. Houghton 
Mifflin Company, Boston', 1918. 



MOTIVATING DRILL WORK 345 

their taking the place of the teacher's quizzes and tests. 
Standardized tests should be used to supplement, but 
never to supplant the teacher's examinations. 

Good testing is good teaching. If a thing is worth 
teaching it is worth testing. Children live in the pres- 
ent. Often some of the essentials in a certain subject 
become distasteful to the pupil. The business of the 
school is to see that he becomes educated, even in spite 
of himself. However, it is possible to create in most 
pupils a desire to be tested. If the child sees that the 
test is his means of determining accurately how much 
he has achieved on his problem, and just what part 
of the job is yet to be done, he will be convinced that 
this frequent test or inventory is his ally instead of 
his foe. He will often demand a test over an assign- 
ment before he reads it, so as to know definitely where 
to direct his attack. "Whether he plans to save time 
and energy, or to acquire as much information as pos- 
sible with minimum effort, the test is his most reliable 
and scientific method of approach. He will learn to 
regard it as a challenge to his preparation. It often 
is the spirit in which the test is given, rather than 
the test itself, that brings discord and makes some test- 
ing of doubtful value. The value of both the stand- 
ardized and teacher-made tests as sources of motivating 
power is apparent. These tests show the pupils where 
they are weak, and develop the mental set necessary 
for intensive drill exercises. 

In previous chapters we have said that interest must 



346 SILENT READING 

be present in drill work if it is to be effective. "We 
are now ready for the other half of the truth, namely, 
that one must know definitely where the drill is needed 
and how much of it is necessary. Too much energy 
of both pupils and teachers has too long been dissi- 
pated in drill work, not so much because interest was 
wanting, but because there was no focus upon the spe- 
cific needs of the individual child. Often children are 
annoyed with reading, spelling, and arithmetic exercises 
which they have known for days. It is through the 
test that teacher and pupil get a correct estimate of 
the values and aims not yet accomplished. 

The value of charting results. Too often both stand- 
ardized and teacher-made tests are given without mak- 
ing results known to the pupils. The inspiration and 
interest which these tests would naturally foster is lost. 
*' After testing, what?'* is a very searching question 
now being asked by school men, and especially by mem- 
bers of finance boards that must arrange to pay the 
bills. It is not within the province of this chapter 
to attempt an answer to this question which has occa- 
sioned the writing of some splendid books. Invariably, 
a close analysis of the results of these tests suggests 
a change or broadening of the course of study to meet 
individual needs, as well as a revaluation of several 
elements both spiritual and material within the school. 
But there is yet another inherent virtue that may 
evolve from the testing of pupils, namely, the awaken- 
ing and sustaining of a genuine interest for greater 



MOTIVATING DRILL WORK 347 

achievement. This may be realized in several ways, 
but the one to be discussed here considers briefly the 
efficiency of tabulating and charting the results of tests. 

Most pupils are keenly interested in knowing just 
where they stand with reference to some standardized 
test for their grade, or how their standing compares 
with that of other pupils in their class. Graphing the 
scores or achievements of pupils as an incentive to ex- 
cellence is psj^chologically sound practice. It appeals 
to the impulses of rivalry, emulation, and social ap- 
proval. Many of the large mercantile houses send 
weekly reports to their salesmen in the form of graphs, 
which are only comparative scores of sales made. 

Now and then there may be a pupil who is not af- 
fected by a daily comparison of his scores with those of 
his classmates, but there is rarely one who is not more 
or less interested in charting and studying his own 
progress from day to day, once he makes the start and 
becomes interested. Having the scores of the whole 
class charted weekly and compared with the standard 
for that grade enables the teacher to measure the suc- 
cess of her own efforts. It is at least one scientific de- 
vice which she can employ to measure the probable 
effectiveness of her methods. The charts are silent re- 
minders to pupils and teachers of standards yet to be 
attained. Perhaps no better argument can be urged 
for charting pupils' scores than that each child can 
see his own daily progress, can watch himself grow. 
It is good practice to have each student record and 



348 SILENT READING 

chart his own achievement from time to time. His 
impulse to excel then centers on surpassing his previous 
daily or weekly record, rather than excelling that of 
some classmate. 

Methods of charting. Two methods of charting are 
advised. (1) Making records and charts for the class 
as a whole, (2) recording and charting each pupil's 
scores. The latter work should be done by the pupil 
himself so that he may study his own progress and 
become interested in diagnosing his own difficulties. 

Charting class progress. The group chart shows 
the achievements or scores of the whole class in com- 
parison with the universal standard for that particular 
grade. Pupils can see at a glance what portion of 
their class is up to average or above. This chart also 
enables them to make comparisons of the work of indi- 
viduals. Names of pupils should not appear on the 
chart because those who have low scores may be need- 
lessly humiliated by such publicity. Each child should 
be designated by a number, known only to teacher 
and pupil, as shown in Fig. 5, 

The chart shown on the opposite page indicates the 
comprehension scores made by a class of seventh-grade 
pupils in a consolidated school who were measured by 
the Thorndike-McCall Reading Scale: Form 6. As 
shown by the vertical bars, three pupils are below the 
standard for the fifth grade, eight below that for the 
sixth grade, twelve below that for the seventh grade, 
and one is above the seventh-grade standard. 



MOTIVATING DRILL WORK 



349 




58 

SI 

5b 

55 

54 

53 

52 

51 

50 

49 

48 

47 



llllllllll 




37 
Pupils Number -» I 2 3 4 S fe 7 8 9 10 II 12 13 

Figure 5. (See the explanation on page 348.) 



350 SILENT READING 

Making a group chart once a week is often enough 
in most schools. Paper is not necessary. Often better 
results are obtained if a conspicuous place on the black- 
board is set aside for showing the weekly class stand- 
ing. The use of colored crayons gives such a chart 
or record a tone that is worth while. Pupils should 
draw the scale and help construct the diagram. Such 
work is a valuable experience for them and motivates 
an interest in the test. 

At least two charts should be made for every group. 
One should show the rate of reading and the other 
the comprehension scores. Standardized tests may be 
used to determine progress, but if those are not avail- 
able the teacher may select an appropriate lesson and 
have the pupils read it through once, keeping check 
on their time. The teacher should give a test on the 
content and take the class average as a standard. 

Individual progress during a given period may be 
shown as the chart (Fig. 6) on the opposite page in- 
dicates. This chart shows the comprehension scores 
made by a class of seventh-grade pupils measured by 
the Thorn dike-McCall Reading Scale: Form 7. The 
vertical black bars are the same as those shown in Fig. 
5. The open bars represent the increased reading 
ability of the pupils. In addition to the regular as- 
signments these pupils were given specific drill exer- 
cises ten minutes daily for twenty days. Thought- 
getting drills were also emphasized. 

If paper is used for the chart it is best to rule it 



MOTIVATINa DRILL WORK 



351 



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o 



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61 
60 
59 
58 
57 
56 
55 
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53 
52 
51 
50 
49 
48 
47 
46 
45 
44 
43 
42 
41 
40 



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fiifiU Number 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 15 

Figure 6. (See the explanation on page 350.) 



352 SILENT READING 

off into one-inch squares. Show the points, scores, or 
per cent of achievement of the pupils on the vertical 
axis; place the numbers representing the names on the 
horizontal axis. The universal standard to which the 
grade should attain should be indicated by a very heavy 
horizontal line near the top of the chart. (See Figs. 
5 and 6.) 

Charting individual progress. The individual chart 
should have as many squares on the horizontal axis 
as there are school days in the month, if the pupil 
is to plot his daily progress. The vertical length of 
the chart will be determined by the number of points, 
scores, or per cent allowed to each square. The chart 
should usually be long enough to show the daily gains 
or losses rather conspicuously. 

As already noted, each pupil becomes more interested 
in his OA^Ti progress than that of his classmates. This 
gives its value to the individual chart. Often, in the 
rural school, there is only one pupil in a grade. In 
such cases, rivalry within the class is obviously im- 
possible. However, if the pupil becomes interested in 
tabulating and graphing his reading scores in speed, 
and comprehension, he will be watching himself grow. 
He will occasionally be annoyed that his records vary 
from day to day, that he even fails to equal the achieve- 
ments of the preceding week. Often a spirit of genuine 
inquiry is stimulated by the pupil's attempt to account 
for these plateaus, peaks, and valleys in his reading 
curve. Although class rivalry may be lacking because 



MOTIVATING DRILL WORK 



353 



3 

c 

S 

V 
CL 

5 






380 

370 
3tO 
350 
340 
330 
310 
310 
300 
190 
280 
L70 
2.U} 
iSD 
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230 
220 
210 
ZOO 
190 
180 
170 
lUD 

I5D 
140 

130 
110 
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Pay5 I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 lO II 11 13 14 IS" l(* H 18 19 20 

Figure 7. An individual chart. Tlie scores indicated repre- 
sent the progress made in reading- rate during a period of 
twenty days in which speed drills were given for ten minutes 
per day. 



354 SILENT READING 

of lack of numbers, the most wholesome kind of rivalry, 
— ' an attempt to beat one 's own record, — may never- 
theless operate. Thus the results that obtain from using 
standardized tests in rural schools are quite as valu- 
able as those that accrue when those tests are used in 
town and city schools. 

SUMMARY 

1. A rich course of study, a good library, definite assign- 
ments, broad reading, scientific methods, and drill exer- 
cises produce effective study habits. 

2. Pupils must be genuinely interested and they must know 
where their attention should be focused. 

3. Psychological doctrine gives a basis for drill work. 

4. Pupil-motivation should be emphasized in all drills. 

5. The teacher must not overlook the value of instinctive 
tendencies in drill work. 

6. Teachers should use devices based on inherent traits. 

7. Focalization upon specific needs arouses the child's in- 
terest. 

8. Teacher-made tests, which are valuable and necessary, 
are not second in importance to standardized tests. 

9. Charting results creates interest in reading and serves 
as a diagnostic device for both teacher and pupils. 

SUGGESTED READINGS 

Alexander, Carter. School Statistics and Publicity. Silver, 
Burdett and Company, Chicago, 1919. 

Colvin, S; S. and Bagley, W. C. Human Behavior. (Chap- 
ters 3 io 11.) The Macmillan Company, New York City, 
1918. 

Colvin, S. S. The Learning Process. (Chapters 3, 4, 17, 
18, 19.) The Macmillan Company, New York City, 1920. 

Dewey, John. Interest and Effort in Education. Houghton 
Mifflin Company, Boston, 1913. 

Dewey, John and Evelyn. Schools of Tomorroiv. E. P. Dut- 
ton and Company, New York City. 



APPENDIX 



A. PAMPHLETS SUITABLE FOR USE AS READING MATERIAL 

The following pamphlets are suitable for use as reading 
material as outlined in the plans given on pages 246-249. 
In asking for a supply of this material teachers should 
write directly to the sources indicated. Publications of the 
United States Government may be obtained by addressing 
the Superintendent of Documents, United States Bureau of 
Engraving and Printing, Washington, D. C. 

Farm Bulletins (Issued by the United States Department 
of Agriculture.) 
No. 

535 Sugar and Its Value as Food 

565 Corn Meal as a Food: Ways of Using It 

567 Sugar-beet Growing Under Irrigation 

602 The Production of Clean Milk 

606 The Collection and Preservation of Insects and 

Other Material in the Study of Agriculture 

607 The Farm Kitchen as a Workshop 
609 Bird Houses and How to Build Them 
630 Common Birds Useful to the Farmer 

637 The Grasshopper Problem and Alfalfa Culture 

653 Honey and Its Use in the Home 

660 Weeds. How to Control Them 

670 Field Mice as Farm and Orchard Pests 

691 Grasshoppers — Sugar Beets and Truck Crops 

697 Duck Raising 

702 Rabbits in Relation to Trees and Crops 

712 School Lunches 

734 Fly Traps and Their Operation 

744 The Preservative Treatment of Farm Timbers 

747 Grasshoppers and Their Control 

808 How to Select Foods: I. What the Body Needs 

357 



'358 SILENT READING 

817 How to Select Foods: II. Cereal Foods 
824 Foods Rich in Protein 

Bulletins of the Children's Bureau of the United States 
Department of Labor 
No. 

8 Infant Care (Care of Childre7i Series No. 2.) 

Baby-saving Campaigns (Infant Mortality Series 
No. 1.) 

35 Milk: Indispensable for Children (Care of Children 

Series No. 4-) 

36 Save 100,000 Babies: Get a Square Deal for Children 
47 The Public Health Nurse: How She Helps to Keep 

Babies Well 

Bulletins of the Connecticut State Department of Health 
(Hartford, Connecticut) 
How to Avoid Tuberculosis 
Diphtheria 
Scarlet Fever 

Bulletins of the Virginia State Department of Health 
(Richmond, Virginia) 
No. 

5 The Sanitary School 

6 Bluebird Day 

7 First Aid 
19 Fresh Air 

27 The Best Weapon Against Flies 
36 The Drinking Cup 

Bulletins of the International Harvester Company's 
Agricultural Extension Department (Chicago) 
Humus: The Life of the Soil 
Helps for Wash Day 
Cold-pack Canning 
We Must Feed Ourselves 
The Story of Bread 

B. BOOKS SUGGESTED FOR USE IN GRADES I, II, AND HI 
The following list of titles was made by members of a 



APPENDIX 359 

class in the College of Education at Des Moines University, 
who were working on the problem, "Appropriate Reading 
Material for the Primary Grades." Although the list is not, 
of course, exhaustive, it includes such titles as are recom- 
mended for a place in the reading library of the first, 
second, and third grades. Teachers will find that the books 
mentioned contain interesting, wholesome, and practical ma- 
terial suitable for the ordinary library. In several instances 
a title appears in more than one list because the subject- 
matter of the book is suitable for use in several grades. 
The numbers in parentheses following the titles correspond 
to those appearing on pages 376-378, and indicate the names 
and addresses of the publishing firms from which the respec- 
tive books may be obtained. 

GRADE 1 

Alexander, Georgia: Child Classics (9) 

Baker and Thorndike: Every Day Classics (34) 

Brooke, Leslie L. : Jolmny Croiv's Party (62) 

Johnny Croiv's Garden (62) 
Burchill, Georgine: Story Steps (51) 

Progressive Road to Reading (51) 
Caldecott, R. : Panjandrum Picture Book (62) 

Hey Diddle Picture Book (62) 
Coe and Christy: Story Hour Reader (2) 

Story Hour Primer (2) 
Craik, G. M.: Bow-Boio and Mew-Meic (35) 

So-Fat and Mew-Mew (35) 
Dressel, H. and others: The New Barnes Readers (6) 
Dyer and Brady: The Merrill Primer (35) 

Merrill First Reader (35) 
Edson and Laing: Edson-Laing Primer (^7) 

Edson-Laing First Reader (^7) 
Elson and Runkel: The Elson Primer (48) 

'The Elson First Reader (4S) 
Field, W. T.: The Field Primer (21) 
Firman and Maltby: The Winstoii Primer (59) 

The Winston First Reader (59) 



360 SILENT READING 

Fox, F. M.: Indian Primer (20) 

Mother Goose Primer {1^2) 

Adventures of Bonny Bear (43) 
Free and Tread well: Reading-Literature Primer (46) 

Reading-Literature First Reader (46) 
Greenway, K.: Marigold Garden (62) 

Under the Window (62) 
Grover and Chutter: Art-Literature (4) 
McManus and Haaren: Natural-Method Readers: Primer (49) 

Natural-Method Readers: First Reader (49) 
Potter, Beatrix: Tales of Peter Ra'bUt (57) 

Little Black Samho (44) 
Raymond, MacDonald, and Alden: Why the Chimes Rang (9) 
Searson and Martin: Primer (55) 

First Reader (55) 
Serl and Evans: Work-a-day Doings (51) 

Work-a-day Doings on the Farm (51) 
Silvester and Peters: Happy Hour Stories (2) 
Young and Field: Literary Readers (21) 

GRADE II 

Adelberg, Otilla: Clean Peter (29) 
Bannermann, Helen: Little Black Samho (44) 
Bayliss, Clara: Lolami, the Little Cliff Dweller (41) 
Bigham, Madge A.: Mother Goose Tillage (43) 

Merry Animal Tales (28) 
Blaisdell, M. F.: Tommy Tinker's Book (28) 
Brown, A. F.: The Lonesomest Doll (25) 
Burchill, Georgine: Progressive Road to Reading: Book 

II (51) 
Burgess, Thornton: Old Mother West Wind (28) 

Grandfather's Frog (28) 

Johnny Chuck (28) 
Coe and Christy: Story Hour Reader (2) 
Deming, T. 0.: Little Indian Folk (53) 

Little Red People (53) 
Dopp, K: The Tree Dwellers (43) 

Early Cave Men (43) 



APPENDIX 361 

Dressel, H. and others: TJie Netv Barnes Readers (6) 
Edson and Laing: Edson-Laing Second Reader (47). 
Faulkner, Georgene: Italian Fairy Tales (13) 

Old Russian Tales {13) 
Firman and Maltby: The Winston Readers (59) 
Free and Tread well: Reading-Literature Second Reader (46) 
Greenway, Kate: Marigold Garden (62) 

Pied Piper (62) 
Grover, Eulalie: Kittens and Cats (25) 

The Overall Boys in Switzerland (43) 

The Sunhonnet BaMes in Holland (43) 
Hall, Jennie: Weavers and other Workers (43) 
Lang, A.: The Princess on the Glass Hill (29) 

Jack the Giant Killer (29) 

Jack and the Bean Stalk (29) 
Lefevre, Felicite: The Cock, the Mouse, and the Hen (1) 
Lucia, Rose: Peter and Polly in Summer (2) 
McManus and Haaren: Natural-Method Readers: Book II (49) 
Morcomb, Margaret: Red Feather Stories (31) 
Perkins, Lucy F.: The Eskimo Tioins (25) 

The Japanese Ticins (25) 
Potter, Beatrix: Talcs of Peter RalMt (57) 
Pyle, K: In the Green Forest (28) 

Careless Jane (17) 
Seachrest, E.: Greek Photo Plays (43) 
Searson and Martin: Second Reader (55) 
Serl, Emma: In Fal)leland (51) 
Weimer, Teresa: Chats in the Zoo (43) 
White, E. O.: Brothers in Fur (25) 
Williston, T. P.: Japafiese Fairy Tales (43) 
Young and Field: Literary Reader: Book II (21) 

GRADE irc 

Bailey, Carolyn S.: For the Children's Hour (15) 
Baldwin, J.: Fifty Famous Stories Retold (2) 

Hero Tales Told in School (49) 

Fairy Stories and Fahles (2) 
Baum, Frank: The Wizard of Oz (44) 



362 SILENT READING 

Bigham, Madge A.: Merry Animal Tales (28) 
Blaisdell, M. F.: Polly .and Dolly (28) 
Brooks, D.: Stories of the Red Children (19) 
Brown, A. F.: The Christmas Angel (25) 

The Lonesomest Doll (25) 
Bryce, Catherine: That's Why Stories (37) 
Burgess, Thornton: Grandfather's Frog (28) 

Adventures of Reddy Fox (28) 

Adventures of Paddy the Beaver (28) 

Adventures of Old Mr. Toad (28) 

Bedtime Story-hook (28) 

Mother West Wind's Why Stories (28) 

Mrs. Peter RahUt (28) 

Old Mother West Wind (28) 

Old Mother West Wind's Animal Stories (28) 

Old Mother West Wind's Neighbors (28) 
Carpenter, F. G. : Around the World with the Children (2) 

Stories Pictures Tell: Books II and III (43) 
Carroll, Lewis: Through the Looking Glass (1) 
Coe and Christy: Story Hour Reader (2) 
Davidson and Anderson: Lincoln Third Reader (26) 
Doheny, M. A.: A Dramatic Reader for the Third School 

Year (28) 
Dutton, M. B.: In Field and Pasture (2) 
Eggleston, E.: Great Americans for Little Americans (2) 
Faulkner, Georgene: Old English Nursery Tales Retold (13) 

Christmas Stories (13) 
Firman and Maltby: Winston Third Reader (59) 
Free and Treadwell: Reading-Literature Series: Book III (46) 
Grimm, J. K. and W. K.: Fairy Tales (1) 
Hardy, M. E.: Nature's Wonder Lore (43) 
Husted, Mary H.: Stories of Indian Children (41) 
Ingelow, Jean: Mopsa the Fairy (17) 
Kipling, Rudyard: Just-So Stories (16) 
Lang, A.: Princess on the Glass Hill (29) 

The Sleeping B canity (29) 

Pretty Goldilocks (29) 

The Snoio Man (29) 



APPENDIX 353 

Lucia, Rose: Peter and Polly in Autumn {2) 

Peter and Polly in Spring {2) 

Peter and Polly in Summer {2) 

Peter and Polly i7i Winter (2) 
McManus and Haaren: Natural-Method Reader: Book III (49) 
McMurry, L. B.: Classic Stories for Little Ones (41) 
Malory, Sir Thomas: Story of King Arthur's Knights (34) 

Morcomb, Margaret: Red Feather Stories (31) 
Miiller, Mary: Little People of Japan (20) 
Mullock, Maud: The Little Lame Prince (27) 

The Adventures of a Broivnie (27) 
Olmstead, E. G.i Ned and Nan in Holland (46) 
Peary, J. B.: Children of the Arctic (53) 
Perkins, Lucy F.: The Snow Bady (25) 

The Japanese Ttuins (25) 

The Eskimo Twins (25) ' 

The Puritan Twins (25) 
Pyle, K.: The Christmas Angel (28) 

As the Goose Flies (28) 

The Counterpane Fairy (17) 
Ruskin, John: The King of the Golden River (21) 
Scudder, H. E.: Fables a7id Folk Stories (25) 

George Washington (25) 
Seachrest, E.: Gi'eek Photo Plays (43) 

Egyptian Photo Plays (43) 
Searson and Martin: Third Reader (55) 
Shillig, E. E.: The Four Wonders: Cotton, Wool, Linen, 

Silk (43) 
Smith, M. E.: Holland Stories (43) ' 
Stevenson, R. L.: Child's Garden of Verses (49) 
Terry, A. G.: Tales from Far and Near (46) 

C. BOOKS SUGGESTED FOR USE IN GRADES IV AND V 

The following list of titles, compiled by Mary L. Perham, 

appeared in the December (1921) number of the Elementary 

School Journal. Some titles which originally appeared in 

this list have been included in other lists of this Appendix 



364 SILENT READING 

and are consequently omitted here. Concerning this list the 
compiler says: 

The following lists of books are the result of an attempt 
during the past two years to discover the worth-while books 
that children of the fourth and fifth grades actually enjoy 
reading. Each list provides for the difference in taste and 
age found in the average group of forty or fifty children of 
the grades for which they are indicated. Only those books 
which the children themselves have expressed pleasure in 
reading are included. 

GEADE IV 

Bailey, Margery: Seven Peas in tJie Pod {28) 

Beson, Henry: Firelight Fairy Book (5) 

Blaisdell, A. F. : American History for Little Folks (28) 

Brown, A. F. : Star Jewels (25) 

Brown and Bell: Tales of the Red Children (3) 

Bryce, Catherine T.: Folklore from Foreign Lands (37) 

FaUes from Afar (37) 
Bryce, Marion: Nancy in the Woods (61) 
Carpenter, F. G.: Around the World with the Children (2) 
Carroll, Lewis: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (34) 

Through the Lookifig Glass (34) 
Chambers, R. H.: Hide and Seek in Forest Land (3) 
Colum, Padraic: Boy Who Kneiv What the Birds Said (34) 
Craik, Mrs. D. M.: Little Lame Prince (24) 
Curtin, Jeremiah: Fairy Tales of Eastern Europe (32) 
Dickinson, A. D.: Children's Book of Thanksgiving Stories 

(16) 
Dunton, Larkin: Glimpses of the World (51) 
Farmer, Florence V.: Boy and Girl Heroes (34) 
Ghosh, Prince: Wonders of the Jungle (24) 
Gibson, C. C. : In Eastern Wonderlands (28) 
Hall, Jennie: Viking Tales (43) 
Hallock, E. B.: In Those Days (34) 
Hopkins, W. J.: Sand Man: His Farm Stories (39) 

Sand Man: His Sea Stories (39) 
Howells, W. D.: Christmas Every Day (23) 
Jacobs, J. (Editor) : Celtic Fairy Tales (42) 

English Fairy Tales (42) 



APPENDIX 365 

Johnson, Clifton: Oak-tree Fairy Book (28) 

Birch-tree Fairy Book (28) 

Elm-tree Fairy Book (28) 
Judd, Mary C: Classic Myths (43) 
Jusdon, K. B.: Old Crow Stories (28) 
Lagerlof, Selma: Wonderful Adventures of Nils (16) 
Lucia, Rose: Stories of American Discoverers (2) 
Mace, W. H.: Primary History (^3) 
Martin and Davis: Firebrands (28) 
McDonald and Dalrymple: IJne San in Japan (28) 

Marta in Holland (28) 

Joseph in Spain (28) 

Hassan in Egypt (28) 

Betty in Canada (28) 

Donald in Scotland (28) 

Gerda in Siveden (28) 
McMurrj^ and Cook: Songs of Tree-top and Meadow (41) 
Morley, M. W.: Little Mitchell (33) 
Moseley, M. W.: Donkey John of the Toy Valley (33) 
Mulets, Lenore: Sunshine Lands of Europe (60) 
Nixon-Roulet, M. F. : Our Australian Cousin (39) 
Otis, James: Mary of Plymouth (2) 
Page, Thomas Nelson: Captured Santa Claus (49) 
Perkins, F. O. (Editor) : Peter Pan (51) 
Porter, B. C: Wonder Oak (18) 
Pratt, M. L.: Legends of the Red Children (2) 
Pyle, Howard: Ttuilight Land (23) 

Garden Behind the Moon (49) 
Pyle, Katherine: In the Green Forest (28) 

Christmas Angel (28) 

Counterpane Fairy (17) 
Richards, L. E.: Pig Brother (28) 
Scandlin, Christiana: Hans the Eskimo (51) 
Schwartz, J. A.: Little Star Gazers (53) 
Sherman, F. D. : Little Folk Jjyrics (25) 
Shillig, Elnora E.: Four Wonders (43) 
Shute and Dunton: Land of Song: Book I (51) 
Smith, E. Boyd: Farm Book (25) 



366 SILENT READING 

Smith and Hazeltine: Christmas in Legend and Story (30) 

Snell, Roy J.: Little White Fox (28) 

Stone and Fickett: Days and Deeds a Hundred Years Ago 

(24) 

Everyday Life in the Colonies (24) 
Usher, R. G.: Stories of the Pilgrims for Children (34) 
Wade, Mary H.: Our Nortvegian Cousin (39) 

Coming of the White Men (58) 
White, E. O.: Little Girl of Long Ago (25) 
Wiggins and Smith: Posy Ring (16) 

Magic Casements (16) 
Wilmot-Buxton, E. M.: Stories of Norse Heroes (12) 

GRADE V 

Aanrud, Hans: Lisheth Long frock (21) 
Alden, R. M.: Why the Chimes Bang (9) 
Asbjornsen, P. C: Fairy Tales of the Far North (67) 
Baldwin, James: The Old Northwest (2) 
Blaisdell and Ball: Story of American History (21) 

Pioneers of America (28) 

Heroic Deeds of American Sailors (28) 
Branch, M. L. B.: Guld, the Cavern King (50) 
Brooks, E. S.: True Story of Benjamin Franklin (30) 

True Story of Lincoln (30) 
Brown, Frances: The Wonderful Chair (24) 
Browne, G. W.: Two American Boys in Hatvaii (71) 
Bryant, S. C: I am an American (25) 
Bullen, F. T.: Cruise of the Cachalot (66) 
Burgess, Thornton: Burgess Animal Book (28) 

Bird Book for Children (28) 
Burnett, F. H.: Little Lord Fauntleroy (49) 

Little Princess (49) 
Burt, M. E.: Poems Every Child Should Knoiv (16) 
Chamberlain, J. F. and A. H.: Africa (34) 

Europe (34) 

North America (34) 

South America (34) 
Coe, F. E.: Makers of the Nation (2) 

Founders of Our Country (2) 



APPENDIX 3g7 

Colum, Padraic: Adventures of Odysseus and the Fall of 

Troy {3Ji.) 
Curtis, Alice T.: Little Maid of Bunker Hill {40) 

Little Maid of Massachusetts Colony (40) 

Little Maid of Narragansett Bay (40) 

Little Maid of Old Philadelphia (40) 

Little Maid of Provincetown (40) 
Davis, J. W. (Editor) : Pinocchio Under the Sea (34) 
Deming and Bemis: Stories of Patriotism (25) 
Dickinson, H. W. and A. D.: Children's Book of Patriotic 

Stories (16) 
Eastman, C. A. and E. G. : Smoky Day's Wigwam Evenings 

(28) 
Eastman, E. G.: Indian Legends Retold (28) 
French, Allen: Heroes of Iceland (28) 

Story of Rolf (28) 
Ghosh, Prince: Wonders of the Jungle: Books I and II (24) 
Gordy, W. F.: American Leaders and Heroes (49) 
Grenfell, W. T.: Adrift on the Ice (25) 
Griffith, A. M.: Stars and Their Stories (63) 
Haaren and Poland: Famous Men of Modern Times (2) 
Hallock, E. B.: In Those Days (34) 

Hancock, M. S.: Children in History (Early Times) (28) 
Hawkins, C. J.: Little Red Doe (28) 
Hawthorne, Nathaniel: Wonder Book (25) 
Hudson, W. H.: Little Boy Lost (70) 
Hyde, L. S.: Favorite Greek Myths (24) 
Johnson, Clifton: Fir-tree Fairy Book (28) 
Kaler, J. O.: The Life Savers (17) 
Lang, A.: Green Fairy Book (29) 

Blue Fairy Book (29) 
Larkin, Shute, and Duncan: Land of Song: Book II (51) 
Lefferts, Walter: American Leaders: Books I and II (27) 
Lofting, Hugh: Story of Dr. Doolittle (53) 
Martin and Davis: Firebrands (28) 
McFee, Inez: Boys and Girls of Many Lands (12) 
McMurry, C. A.: Pioneers of the Mississippi Valley (34) 
Mills, E. A.: Story of a Thousand Year Pine (25) 



368 SILENT READING 

Molesworth, M. L. S.: Cuckoo Clock (27) 

Christmas Tree Land (5^) 

Carrots (34) 
Nixon-Roulet, M. F.: Our Brazilian Cousin (39) 
Olcott, F. J.: Arabian Nights (63) 

Story-telling Poems (25) 
Ouida: Moufflon (21) 

A Dog of Flanders (21) 
Page, T. N.: Two Little Confederates^ (49) 
Paine, Albert B.: Arkansaw Bear (1) 
Parkman, M. R.: Heroes of Today (11) 
Perkins, L. F.: Mexican Twins (25) 

French Twins (25) 
Perkins, F. O. (Editor) : Children's Bluebird (51) 
Pyle, Howard: The Wonderful Clock (23) 
Riis, Jacob: Hero Tales of the Far North (34) 
Schultz, J. W.: Sinopah, the Indian Boy (25) 

Quest of the Fish-dog Skin (25) 
Schwartz, Julia: Wilderness Babies (28) 
Seton-Thompson, E. : Wild Animals I Have Known (49) 
Sewell, Anna: Black Beauty (64) 
Sherman, F. D.: Little Folk Lyrics (25) 
Sidney, Margaret: Five Little Peppers (30) 
■Smith, M. P. W.: Stories of Old Deerfield (28) 

Jolly Good Times on a Farm (28) 

Jolly Good Times at Hackmatack (28) 

Boy Captive in Canada (28) 
Spyri, Johanna: Moni, the Goat Boy (21) 

Heimatlos (21) 
Stein, Evaleen: Gabriel and the Hour Book (39) 
Stimpson, M. S.: Child's Book of American Biography (28) 
Stocking, J. T.: The City That Never Was Reached (65) 
Stone and Fickett: Everyday Life in the Colonies (24) 

Days and Deeds a Hundred Years Ago (24) 
Tappan, E. M.: Robin Hood: His Book (28) 

Little Book of the Flag (25) 

American Hero Stories (25) 
Tileston, Mary W.: Child's Harvest of Verse (28) 



APPENDIX 369 

Wade, Mary: Twin Travelers in South America (53) 

Leaders to Liberty (28) 
Wesselhoeft, L. F.: Jack, the Fire Dog (28) 

Laddie, the House Dog (28) 
White, S. E.: Magic Forest (34) 
Whittier, J. G.: Child Life (25) 
Yard, T. S.: Top of the Continent (49) 

D. SUPPLEMENTARY READING MATERIAL FOR GRADES IV 

TO VIII 
The following titles are suggestive of a type of reading 
material which gives much information on several of the 
content subjects usually studied in grades four to eight, 
inclusive. This list is part of a bibliography prepared by 
a group of superintendents and grade principals who were 
working with the authors on the problem, "Supplementary 
Reading Materials for the Intermediate and Upper Grades." 
Many valuable suggestions were derived from Bobbitt's 
article, "Reading in the Elementary Schools of Indianapolis: 
Part V. — The Reading Materials"^ and from Hartman's 
book. The Child and His School? 

HISTORY AND CIVICS 

Austin, 0. P.: Vncle Sam's Secrets (3) 
Baldwin, James: Old Stories of the East (2) 

Fifty Famous Stories Retold (2) 

Old Greek Stories Retold (2) 
Bayliss, C. H.: Lolami, the Little Cliff Dweller (41) 
Beard and Bagley: History of American People (34) 
Chase, A.: Children of the Wigiuam (19) 
Church, A. J.: Stories of the Old World (21) ' 
Coffin, C. C: Old Times in the Colonies (23) 
Button, M. B.: Little Stories of Germany (2) 
Eastman, C. A.: Indian Boyhood (16) 

Indian Child Life (28) 

Wigioam Evenings (28) 

^Bobbitt, Franklin. "Reading- in the elementary schools of In- 
dianapolis : Part V. — The reading- materials." Elementary School 
Journal, Vol. 19, (May) 1919. 

2Hartman, Gertrude. The Child and His School. E. P. Dutton 
and Company, New York City, 1922. 



370 SILENT READING 

Eggleston, E.: Stories of American Life and Adventure (2) 
Finnemore, A. J.: Story of RoMn Hood and His Merry 

Men (34) 
Frye, Jane: Tfie Young American Readers (59) 
Gordy, W. F.: Stories of American Explorers (49) 

American Beginnings in Europe (49) 
GrifHs, W, E.: Young People's History of Holland (25) 
Guerber, H. A.: Story of the Chosen People (2) 

Story of the Thirteen Colonies (2) 

Story of the English (2) 

Story of France (2) 
Hall, J.: Men of Old Greece (28) 
Hart, A. B. : Colonial Children (34) 
Hawthorne, Nathaniel: Grandfather's Chair (25^ 
Johnson and Spencer: Ireland's Story (25) 
Kingsley, Charles: The Heroes (17) 
Lang, Andrew: True Story-hook (29) 

Red True Story-hook (29) 
Longfellow, H. W.: Miles Standish (12) 

Evangeline (9) 
Mclntyre, M. A.: The Cave Boy of the Age of Stone (3) 
McMurry, C. A.: Pioneer History Series (34) 
Moore, C. W. : Life of Ahraham Lincoln for Boys and Girls 

(25) 
Morris, Charles: Historical Tales: Greek (27) 

Historical Tales: Roman (27) 

Historical Tales: Russian (27) 

Heroes of Progress in America (27) 

Home Life in All Lands: Vol. II (27) 
Parkman, Francis: Montcalm and Wolfe (28) 

Oregon Trail (34) 

Rivals for America (28) 
Reynolds, M. J.: How Man Conquered Nature (34) 
Roosevelt, Theodore: Winning of the West (42) 
Tappan, Eva M.: Story of the Roman People (25) 

American Hero Stories (25) 
Terry, A. G. (Editor) : History Stories of Other Lands, 6 
Vols. (46) 



APPENDIX 371 

Waterloo, S.: The Story of Ah (16) 

Wilson and Driggs: T7ie White Indian Bop (,60) 

GEOGRAPHY 

Allen, N. B.: Geographical and Industrial Studies: South 

America {21) 
Bishop and Keller; Commercial and Industrial Geography 

(21) 
Blaich, Lydia R. : Three Industrial Nations (2) 
Brigham, A. P.: From Trail to Raihcay (21) 
Bullen, F.: Cruise of the Cachalot (3) 
Butler, E. C: Our Little Mexican Cousin (2) 
Carpenter, F. G.: Hoiv the World Is Clothed (2) 

Hotc the World Is Housed (2) 

Hoiu the World Is Fed (2) 
Chamberlain, J. F.: How We Are Clothed (Sit) 

Ho 10 We Are Fed (34) 

HoiD We Are Sheltered (34) 

Hoiv We Trade (34) 
Darwin, C. R. : Voyage of the Beagle (3) 
Dasent, G-. W.: East o' the Sun and West o' the Moon (42) 
Dodge, M. M.: The Land of Pluck (11) 
Doubleday, R.: Year in a Yawl (16) 
Finnemore, John: Peeps at Many Lands: England (34) 

Peeps at Many Lands: Switzerland (34) 

Peeps at Many Lands: Japan (34) 
Jonckheere, R.: When I teas a Boy in Belgium (30) 
Jungman, B.: Peeps at Many Lands: Holland (34) 
Krout, M. H.: Alice's Visit to the Hawaiian Islands (2) 
McDonald and Dalrymple: Little People Everyichere Series 

(28) 
Mitchell, A. F.: Pas and Patio (6d)- 
Muller, M.: Elsdeth: A Story of German Home Life (17) 
Peary, J.: Children of the Arctic (53) 
Price, O. W.: The Land We Live In (52) 
Rocheleau, W. F.: Geography of Commerce and Industry (19) 
Schwatka, F.: Children of the Cold (19) 
Shaw, R. E.: Big and Little People of Other Lands (2) 



372 SILENT READING 

Spyri, Johanna: Heidi (2) 

Stockton, F. R.: Personally Conducted (49) 

Thomson, M. P.: Peeps at Many Lands: Denmark (34) 

COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY 

Allen, N. B.: Industrial Studies: Europe (21) 
Bassett, S. W.: The Story of Sugar (40) 

The Story of Wool (40) 

The Story of Porcelain (40) 

The Story of Glass (40) 
Bogart, Ernest: Economic History of the United States (29) 
Bolton, Sarah K.: Lives of Oirls Who Became Famous (12) 

Lives of Poor Boys Who Beca^ne Famous (12) 

Famous Men of Science (12) 
Burns, E. E.: Story of Great Inventions (23) 
Butler, F. 0.: The Story of Paper Making (10) 
Bond, Alexander R.: With Men Who Do Things (36) 
Brooks, E. C: The Story of Cotton (43) 
Carpenter, F. 0.: Foods and Their Uses (49) 
Casson, H, N.: History of the Telephone (33) 
Chase and Clow: Stories of Industry: Vol. II (19) 
Cooke, A. 0.: A Day with Leather Workers (38) 

A Visit to a Cotton Mill (38) 

A Visit to a Coal Mine (38) 

A Day in a Shipyard (38) 
Doubleday, Russel: Stories of Inventors (16) 
Dunham, E.: Jogging Around the World (53) 
DuPuy, W. A.: Uncle /Sam's Modern Miracles (53) 
Forman, S. E.: Stories of Useful Inventions (11) 
Grey, Z.: The Young Forester (23) 
Hall, G. S.: The Story of a Sand Pile (6) 
Howe, W. D.: Making a Capital in the Wilderness (9) 
Keller and Bishop: Commercial and Industrial Geography 

(21) 
Kinne and Cooley: Shelter and Clothing (34) 
Kipling, Rudyard: Captains Courageous (16) 
Kirby, M. and E.: Aunt Martha's Corner Cupboard (19) 
Lane, M. A.: Industries of Today (21) 
Laut, A. C: The Story of the Trapper (3) 



APPENDIX 373 

Martin, E. A.: The Story of a Piece of Coal (3) 

Morgan, J. H.: Boy Electrician (27) 

Mowry, A. M.: Captains of Industry (51) 

Parker, E. P.: Petroleum and Its Uses (Series G 1918) (68) 

Rocheleau, W. F.: Great American Industries: Vol. II (20) 

Geography of Commerce and Industry (19) 
Samuel, I.: The Story of Iron (40) 

The Story of Gold and Silver (40) 
Smith, J. R.: Iron and Steel (Series C) (68) 
Tappan, E. M.: Makers of Many Things (25) 

Travellers and Travelings (25) 

Diggers in the Earth (25) 

The Farmer and His Friends (25) 
Towne, E. C: The Story of Money (14) 
Tower, W. S.: The Story of Oil (3) 
Warman, C. Y.: The Story of the Railroad (3) 

E. LITERARY SELECTIONS: FOR BOYS AND GIRLS FROM 
10 TO 15 YEARS OF AGE 

It is believed that the books listed on this and the fol- 
lowing pages will be found as interesting to boys and girls 
as the vicious dime novel and at the same time afford 
them clean, inspiring, and wholesome reading material. 
The list was selected from Books for Older Boys and Girls 
edited by Ruth G. Hopkins, Head of Children's Department, 
Bridgeport (Connecticut) Public Library. The authors are 
deeply indebted to Miss Linn Jones, Head of the Childrens' 
Library of the city of Des Moines, for her co-operation in 
selecting those books which are most in demand by the 
boys and girls of that city. 

This list is suggestive of the type of reading material 
that is safe and wholesome for older children to read. 
Teachers and parents who wish to add interesting selections 
to the children's library can obtain wholesome information 
by consulting The Bookshelf for Boys and Girls, published 
by R. R. Bowker, New York City, and by reading Clara 
Whitehill Hunt's book, What Shall We Read to the Children, 
published by Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. 



374 SILENT READING 

Alcott, Louisa May: Jach and Jill (28) 

Little Women (28) 
Aldrich, T. B.: Story of a Bad Boy (25) 
Altsheler, J. A.: The Horsemen of the Plains (66) 

The Last of the Chiefs (66) 
Ames, J. B.: Torrance from Texas (11) 
Amers, J. B.: The Mystery of Bam Island (11) 

Under Boy Scout Colors (66) 
Ashmun, M. E.: Heart of Isabel Carleton (SJt) 

Isabel Carleton at Home (5^) 
Baker, Olaf: Shasta of the Wolves (69) 
Barbour, R. H.: For the Honor of the School (66) 
Bates, K. L.: In Sunny Spain (17) 
Bond, A. R.: Pick, Shovel, and Pluck (36) 
Brooks, E. S.: Master of the Strong Hearts (17) 
Brooks, Noah: The Boy Emigrants (49) 
Brown, A. F.: In the Days of Giants (25) 
Brown, Helen D.: Two College Girls (25) 
Brown, Edna A.: When Maw Cam^e (30) 
Brownell, Agnes: Thankful Spicers (49) 
Clemens, S. L. (Mark Twain) : Prince and the Pauper (23) 

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (23) 
Collins, A. P.: The Book of Stars (3) 
Colum, Padraic: Children of Odin (34) 

Adventures of Odysseus and Tales of Troy (34) 
Coolidge, Susan: What Katy Did at School (28) 
Cooper, J. F.: The Spy (42) 
Daulton, Agnes: From Sioux to Susan (11) 
Deland, E. D.: Oakleigh (23) 
Dix, Beulah M.: Betty-Bide-At-Home (63) 
Doubleday, R.: Cattle Ranch to College (66) 
Drysdale, William: The Fast Mail (58) 
DuChaillu, Paul: Wild Life under the Equator (23) 
Eggleston, G. C: Long Knives (30) 

Bale Marked Circle X (30) 
French, H. W.: Lance of Kanana (30) 
French, Allen: Story of Rolf and the Viking's Boiv (28) 
Gaines, Ruth: Treasure Floioer (17) 



APPENDIX 375 

Gregor, Elmer R.: Red Arrow {23) 

Running Fox (3) 
Hagedorn, H.: Boys' Lije of Roosevelt (23) 
Hale, Lucretia: Peterkin Papers {25) 
Hale, Edward E.: Man Witliout a Country (28) 
Hall, A.: Carpentry and MecTianics for Boys (30) 
Hawes, C. B.: The Mutineers (5) 
Heyliger, Wm.: Don Strong of the Wolf Patrol (66) 

Off Side (3) 

High Benton (3) 
Hill, F. T.: On the Trail of Washington (3) 

On the Trail of Grant and Lee (3) 
Hurd, Marian K., and Jean B. Wilson: When She Came 

Home from- College (25) 
Inman, Col. H.: The Ranch on the Oxhide (66) 
Jackson, Helen H.: Nelh/'s Silver Mine (28) 
Jacobs, C. D.: Texas Blue Bonnet (39) 
Keeler, Harriet: Our Native Trees and Hoiv to Identify 

Them (49) 
Macdonald, G.: At the Back of the North Wind (27) 
Macdonald, G. : Princess and the Goblin (27) 

Princess and Cur die (27) 
Masefield, J.: Martin Hyde (28) 
Meadowcroft, Wm.: Boys' Life of Edison (23) 
Meigs, Cornelia: Fool of Stars (34) 
Miller, O. T.: The First Book of Birds (25) 

The Second Book of Birds (25) 
Moffett, C: Careers of Danger and Daring (11) 
Montgomery, L. M. : Anne of Green GaMes (39) 
Morgan, A. P.: Boys' Book of Science and Construction (30) 
Page, T. N.: Two Little Confederates (49) 
Paine, A. B.: Boys' Life of Mark Tivain (23) 
Perkins, L. F.: Cornelia (25) 
Pyle, Howard: Garden Behind the Moon (49) 

Jack Ballister's Fortunes (11) 

Men of Iron (23) 

Otto of the Silver Hand (49) 

Merry Adventures of RoMn Hood (49) 



376 SILENT READING 

Rankin, C. W.: Dandelion Cottage (63) 

Rogers, J. E.: The Tree Guide (16) 

Rold-Smith, N. G.: Faerie Queen (17) 

Rolt-Wheeter, F.: The Boy icith the V. S. Foresters (30) 

Roosevelt, Theodore: Stories of the Great West (11) 

Sabin, E. L.: Buffalo Bill and the Overland Trail (21) 

Schiiltz, J. W.: The War Trail Fort (25) 

Schultz, J. W.: Running Eagle, the Warrior Girl (25) 

Lone Bull's Mistake (66) 
■ Rising Wolf, the White Blackfoot (25) 

With the Indians i7i the Rockies (25) 
Shafer, D. C. : Harper's Beginning Electricity (23) 
Stevenson, B. E.: Tommy Remington's Battle (66) 
Stevenson, R. L.: Treasure Island (3) 
Tolman, A. W.: Jim Sjmrling, Fisherman (23) 
Tomlison, E. T.: Scouting ivith Daniel Boone (66) 

Scouting with Kit Carson (66) 
Vaile, Charlotte: Orciitt Girls (58) 
Wallace, Dillon: Ungava Bod (66) 

Troop One of the Labrador (45) 
Washington, B. T.: Up from Slavery (67) 
Zwilgmeyer, Dikken: What Happened to Inger Johanne (30) 

F. LIST OF PUBLISHERS 
Books mentioned in the bibliographies on the preceding 
pages may be obtained from the publishers listed below. 
Teachers can obtain full information regarding any title 
by asking for a catalogue and descriptive literature which 
publishers are always glad to supply. A perusal of pub- 
lishers' catalogues is a good means of acquainting oneself 
with the annual production of books for children. 

1. Henry Altemus and Company Philadelphia 

2. American Book Company New York City 

3. D. Appleton and Company New York City 

4. Atkinson, Mentzer and Company Chicago 

5. Atlantic Monthly Press Boston 

6. A. S. Barnes and Company New York City 



APPENDIX 



377 



7. The Beckley-Cardy Company 

8. Bloch Publishing Company 

9. The Bobbs-Merrill Company 

10. Butler Paper Company 

11. The Century Company 

12. T. Y. Crowell and Company 

13. Daughaday and Company 

14. Dillingham and Company 

15. M. A. Donohue and Company 

16. Doubleday, Page and Company 

17. E. P. Dutton and Company 

18. Eaton and Mains (Abingdon Press) 

19. Educational Publishing Company 

20. A. Flanagan and Company 

21. Ginn and Company 

22. Griffith and Rowland Press (Ameri- 

can Baptist Publication Society) 

23. Harper and Brothers 

24. D. C. Heath and Company 

25. Houghton Mifflin Company 

26. Laurel Book Company 

27. J. B. Lippincott and Company 

28. Little, Brown and Company 

29. Longmans, Green and Company 

30. Lothrop, Lee and Shepard Company 

31. Lyons and Carnahan 

32. Robt. M. McBride and Company 

33. A. C. McClurg and Company 

34. The Macmillan Company 

35. Chas. E. Merrill and Company 

36. Munn and Company 

37. Newson and Company 

38. Oxford University Press (American 

Branch) 

39. The Page Company 

40. Penn Publishing Company 

41. Public School Publishing Company 

42. G. P. Putnam's Sons 



Chicago 

New York City 

Indianapolis 

Chicago 

New York City 

New York City 

Chicago 

New York City 

Chicago 

harden City, N. Y 

New York City 

Chicago 

Boston 

Chicago 

Boston 

Philadelphia 

New York City 

Boston 

Boston 

Chicago 

Philadelphia 

Boston 

New York City 

Boston 

Chicago 

New York City 

Chicago 

New York City 

New York City 

New York City 

New York City 

New York City 
Boston 
Philadelphia 
Bloomington, 111. 
New York City 



378 



SILENT READING 



43. Rand, McNally and Company 

44. The Reilly and Lee Company 

45. F. H. Revell and Company 

46. Row, Peterson and Company 

47. Benj. H. Sanborn and Company 

48. Scott, Foresman and Company 

49. Chas. Scribner's Sons 

50. Sherman, French and Company 

51. Silver, Burdett and Company 

52. Small, Maynard and Company 

53. Frederick A. Stokes and Company 

54. E. Thompson and Company 

55. University Publishing Company 

56. Frederick Warne and C mpany 

57. Albert Whitman and Company 

58. W. A. Wilde and Company 

59. J. C. Winston and Company 

60. World Book Company 

61. John Lane Company 

62. Frederick K. Warne and Company 

63. Henry Holt and Company 

64. George W. Jacobs and Company 

65. Pilgrim Press 

66. Grosset and Diinlap 

67. A. L. Bnrt and Company 

68. United States Bureau of Education 

69. Dodd, Mead, and Company 

70. Alfred A. Knopf 

71. Dana Estes Company 



Chicago 

Chicago 

New York City 

Chicago 

Chicago 

Chicago 

New York City 

Boston 

Chicago 

Boston 

New York City 

Northport, N. Y. 

Lincoln, Nebraska 

New York City 

Chicago 

Boston 

Philadelphia 

Yonkers, N. Y. 

New York City 

New York Ci'ty 

New York City 

Philadelphia 

Boston 

New York City 

New York City 

Washington, D. C. 

New York City 

New York City 

Boston 



INDEX 

{The numhe^'s refer to pages.) 



ABC method, 40, 100; de- 
fects of, 101. 

Action method, 209; value of, 
210; defects of, 210. 

Adenoids, effect of, on read- 
ing ability, 130. 

Aims of silent reading, 23. 

Anderson, C. J., cited, 117, 122, 
136, 137; experiment, 151. 

Arithmetic, clarified, 321-7. 

Articulation in reading, 12, 
13, 14. 

Assignment, importance of, 
for retention, 96, 288. 

Attention-span, 105. 

Betts, G. H., quoted, 22. 
Bird, G. E., experiment, 95. 
Brown, H. A., cited, 211; 

quoted, 227. 
Bryan, W. L,., cited, 21. 
Buckingham, R. B., quoted, 

176. 
Burgeas, M. A., cited, 125, 150. 
Buswell, G. T., cited, 144. 

Carelessness and carefulness, 
150; how overcome, 165. 

Charting, results of compre- 
hension tests, 274-6, 340; 
value of, 346-8; methods of, 
349; class progress, 349; in- 
dividual progress, 351. 

Charts, use of, 216, 335. 

Class standards, devising, 120. 

Colvin, C, cited, 62. 

379 



Combination method, 19. 

Competition, 341, 353. 

Completion tests, 172. 

Comprehension, test of, 22; 
importance of, 24, 45; neg- 
lect of student, 45; average, 
57; repetition in, 58; evi- 
dence regarding, 61; im- 
provement in, 61-6; effect 
of lip-reading on, 110; drills 
in, for poor readers, 112; 
value of measurement of, 
165; measuring, 165-71; 
methods of measurement of, 
171. 

Controlled practice, 63. 

Currier, L. B., cited, 225. 

Dearborn, W. F., quoted, 14, 
39; cited, 37, 41, 105, 145. 

Delayed recal], 89. 

Devices for classroom work : 
Reading between lines, 312; 
filling in, 313. 

Dramatization, value of, 243, 
32 7-31. 

Drills, need for word, 234; 
conducting, 234; action- 
word, 236; preposition, 236: 
object, 237; opposites, 238: 
sign drills, 238; familiar 
combination, 239; speed, 
240; action-phrase, 240; ac- 
tion-sentence, 241; games 
as, 242; dramatization, 243; 
excursion, 244; anissing- 



380 



INBEX 



word, 245; true-false, 246; 
current topic, 247; hygiene 
lesson, 248; children's diet, 
249; riddle, 250; nursery- 
rhyme, 252; phrase and sen- 
tence, 253; picture-answer, 
254; construction work, 
255; bulletin board, 257; ex- 
ercise, 289-95; psychological 
view of, 334; pupil-motiva- 
tion of, 335; teacher-moti- 
vation of, 336. 
Duguid, O. C, cited, 225. 

Earhart, iL. B., experiment, 78- 
81. 

Ebert and Neumann, cited, 87. 

Ebbinghaus, cited, 86. 

Emulation, 339. 

Environmental factors 1 n 
.speed, 42. 

Errors, common in reading, 
. 117-9. 

Experiments in comprehen- 
sion, 53, 54, 62, 65; in or- 
ganization, 71, 72, 77; in re- 
tention, 86-7. 

Eyesight defects 129. 

Eye-span, 39, 101. 

Eye-voice span, 145. 

Feeble-minded children, 135. 
Pinch, C E., experiment, 72; 

cited, 149, 
Fixation-points, 37, 41, 101-5. 
Flash-card exercises, 136. 
Focalization, secured, 341, 343. 
Folk-tale lessons, 220-4. 
Foreign children, 146. 

Gates, A. I., experiment on 
true-false tests, 182. 

Germane (C E. and E. G.), 
experiments on thought- 
getting, 54; on organization, 
71; on testing and recall, 



93; in lip-reading and 
speed, 109. 

Gilliland, A. H., cited, 33. 

Gist, A. iS., quoted 172. y ^ 

Gray, W. iS., cited, 115, 124, 
137,^ 139, 154; oral-reading 
test, 117,"" 138; experiment 
for speed in reading, 154. '^^ 

Green, iM. G., experiment, 61-2. 

Hawley, W. E., cited, 134. 
Hearing defects, 130. 
Horn, Ernest, cited, 134. 
Hub-and-spoke device, 303. 
Hygiene in speed, 40. 

Imagery in reading, 21. 
Imitation, 337. 
Immediate recall, 89. 

Judd, C. H., cited, 42, 108. 

Kerfoot, J. B., quoted, 158. 
Key paragraph, 301. 
Key sentence, 299. 
Klapper, Paul, quoted, 148. 

Lesson assignment and or- 
ganization, 70. 

Library books, 133, 198. 

Line length in textbooks, 41. 

Liip-reading, 109; experiment 
on, 110; suggested treat- 
ment of. 111; overcoming, 
108. 

Lyman, R. L., cited, 157, 160: 
plan for silent reading, 307. 

Malnutrition, effect of, 130. 
Mann, Horace, quoted, 46. 
Marker, use of, 143, 222. 
Material for silent readinsr, 

186, 195, 201, 206, 262, 269. 

280; use of, '280; advanced, 

315. 
McCall, W. A., quoted, 181. 
Mendenhall, W. L., cited, 177. 



INDEX 



381 



Merton, E., cited, 117, 122, 136, 

137, 151. 
Methods of teaching reading, 

100. 
iMonroe, W. S., quoted, 29, 348; 

reading scale of, 187; 

Standardised Silent - reading 

Test, 64, 166. 
Motor habits in reading, 39, 

104. 

Nursery rhymes in beginning 
reading, 215-20; value of, 
220; defects in use, 220. 

O'iBrren, J. A., cited, 13, 145, 
334. 

Oral reading, drawback to 
method, 11; value of, 15-18; 
method of teaching, 18; 
combined "with silent read- 
ing, 19, 20; reasons for 
teaching, 21; overemphasis 
of, 106-144; psychology of, 
106; tests of (Gray), 117; 
habits in, 127. 

Organization, importance of, 
24, 68, 69, 113; psychological 
view of, 68; sociological 
view of, 69; inability in, 69; 
hoiw to teach, 77, 82, 113; 
value of, 77; retention 
through, 98; lesson on, 271. 

Outlines in organization, 69, 
71, 72, 73, 82. 

Pageants, 327; fire-preven- 
tion. 328-31. 

Pamphlets for silent reading, 
200. 

Parker, S, C, quoted, 156. 

Peet and Dearborn Progress 
Test in Arithmetic, 326. 

Perception-unit, 105, 145. 

Permanency of retention se- 
cured, 97. 

Peterson, J., experiment of, 
87. 



Phonics, method for, 102; 
value of, 136, 137; overem- 
phasis of, 139; method in 
beginning reading, 225; 
time for introduction of, 
226; deferred training in, 
229. 

Physical defects, 128-30. 

Physical inspection of school 
children, 129. 

Physiological factors in 
speed, 37. 

Pintner, Rudolph, cited, 13. 

Play instinct utilized, 338. 

Pointing to words, 143. 

Presentation o f beginning 
reading, 208; methods of, 
211-25. 

Pressey, S. L. and L. C, ex- 
periment of, 126; cited, 15G. 
186. 

Problem of the reading 
teacher, 52. 

Project method for beginning 
readers, 211-3; value and 
defects of, 2il4. 

Psychological factors in 
speed, 42. 

Psychology of oral reading, 
106-7. 

Pupil-motivation, 92, 335. 

Pupil organization, 82. 

Quantz, J. O., quoted, 13; 
cited, 109. 

Question method for measure- 
ment, 174; for drill, 273. 

Rapid reading, value of, 36. 

Reading, abilities compared, 
156, 261, 298; attitudes, 156; 
defects, 128-40, 143, 144, 145, 
146, 147, 150, 151; reading 
difficulties, 116; illustration 
of lesson in, 47. 

Reading rate, variation of, 
28. 



382 



INDEX 



Recall value, 88. 

Recog-nition tests, 173. 

Reference work, importance 
of, 147-9. 

Remedial work, for bad study 
habits, 75; importance of, 
115; examples of, 116; prep- 
aration for, 117; planning, 
122; tests for, 123-8; in vo- 
cabulary enlargement, 132; 
for subnormal children, 134; 
for word recognition, 136; 
for comprehension, 140; for 
word pointing, 143; for nar- 
row perception-unit, 146; to 
extend use of reference 
books, 147; for careless 
reading, 150; in oral read- 
ing, 151; to overcome bad 
study habits, 159; explained, 
163. 

Repetitions, 151. 

Reproduction method, 171. 

Retention, importance of, 24, 
86; experiments in, 86, 88, 
97; increased, 97; teaching 
pupils, 113; measurement, 
importance of, 165; training 
for, 278. 

Sandwick, R. L., cited, 128. 

Scales, 124-6. 

Schmidt, W. A., quoted, 12, 13, 
105, 107; cited, 145. 

"Signpost paragraph," 84. 

Silent reading, aims of, 23; 
importance of, 11; method 
of training primary pupils 
in, 107; test-s, how made, 
122; controlled, 231; prin- 
ciples observed in teaching, 
260; individual training in, 
261; material for, 262, 269. 
2S0. 315; class discussion of, 
263; drill in, by question 
method, 27'3; project work 
for, 1273; in intermediate 



grades, 280; illustrative les- 
sons in, -282-6; English class 
work and, 306; Lyman's 
plan for, 307; outline for 
seventh - grade, 308 - 10; 
arithmetic for, 322. 

Single reading, results of, 55. 

Skillful reading accomplish- 
ments, 160. 

Smith, Bertha M., cited, 124. 

Speed in reading, importance 
of, 27, 35, 36; physiological 
factors in, 37; hygienic fac- 
tors in, 40; psychological 
factors in, 4)2; environ- 
mental factors in, 42; meth- 
ods of obtaining, 299-305. 

Speed drill, dangers of, 30; 
values of, 32; for poor read- 
ers, 112. 

•Standardization, 120. 

"Standardized tests, 117; 
Stone's extension, -64; rea- 
soning test in arithmetic, 
324; as measure of achieve- 
ment, 343. 

Stone, C. W., and Colvin, C, 
experiment, 62. 

(Story method for beginning 
readers, '214. 

'Study efficiency, 63. 

'Study habits, 159, 259, 297, 
298, 318. 

Subnormal children, 134. 

Subject-matter . o f readers, 
113. 

Substitution, 151. 

Summaries in organization, 
83. 

Summary-outline, 71. 

Teacher-made tests, 119, 344. 
Teacher-motivation, 335. 
Teeth, defects of, 130. 
Testing before reading, 90-3. 
Tests, 53, 54, 55, 56, 61, 6i2, 
64, 72, 75, 97, 117, 119, 120; 



INDEX 



383 



how to make silent-read- 
ing, 122, 123, 127, 136; value 
of, 166; nature of, 166; com- 
pletion, 172; recognition, 
173; question method, 174, 
176; scoring- of, 180, 178; 
true-false, 178, 181; reading 
tests, 288; adaptation of, 
289, 305; Stone's tests in 
arithmetic, 375, 326; compe- 
titive, 343; standardized, 
343; teacher-made, 344. 
Theisen, W. W., cited, 127. 

Thorndike, E. L., experiment 
of, 161-3. 

Thought-getting, 45, 58. 

True-false test for compre- 
hension, 178, 181; advan- 
tages of, 183. 

Type, size of, 41, 



Vocabulary limit, effects of, 
on reading, 126, 130. 

Waldman, Bessie F., cited, 

174. 
Waldo, C. D., cited, 124. 
W-atkins, E., cited, 226. 
Wils'on, E., experiment of, 

18-9-93; results of, 193. 
Word, importance of analysis 

of, 131; Importance of 

building of, 131; focus, 144; 

method, 103-5; criticism of 

method, 105; recognition 

value, 135. 

Yoakam, G. A., experiment cf, 
53, 88, 90; cited, 53, 54, 88, 
90; quoted, 92. 

Zirbes, Laura, cited, 137; re- 
port, 18'9. 



